A Second Chance
by kln101
Summary: Oliver wakes up with no memories since getting on the Gambit seven years earlier. With no memories of the island or the Arrow, where is his life going to take him? What does this mean for Felicity? Olicity focus! (Set after Season 2, but with Laurel still in the dark about Oliver's identity and Queen Consolidated intact.) Final chapter posted!
1. Chapter 1- In the Hospital

**A/N- This is my first attempt at a continuing story, and I can't stress how much I'd appreciate any feedback! I'm used to writing one-shot entries, but this idea came to me with a longer endgame in mind. I'm so excited to see where this leads!**

**This story is set after the events of the Season 2 finale, so while Oliver told Felicity he loved her recently, we've been lead to believe it was just to fool Slade. For story telling purposes, I've kept Laurel in the dark about Oliver's extracurricular activities, and Oliver remains in control of Queen Consolidated. **

* * *

Felicity sat in the chair next to the hospital bed, her hand resting on his while he slept. She preferred to think of it as sleeping. Oliver had been unconscious for nearly a day. His doctors were more firmly of the opinion that he needed to get rid of his motorcycle than ever, but Felicity couldn't come up with any other reason than a wreck for him to be in his current condition. She wasn't feeling especially creative, nor was she explaining how an entire street gang had been in a warehouse where Oliver was just going on a quick recon mission.

Roy and Diggle had been in and out of the room over the past few hours, but they were trying to hold down the fort out in the Glades. With the Arrow out of commission, they were keeping pretty busy. Felicity knew she should call Thea, but what exactly was she supposed to say to her? The doctors had told her that Oliver could wake up at any moment, and until he did Felicity wasn't calling anyone.

Her eyes gazed over his face. He seemed so tense all the time that it was almost reassuring to see the peacefulness in his expression. Most of the time she knew that he was choosing which Oliver to be in every moment, and the pressure to fulfill every version of himself for everyone had to be overwhelming. Felicity had two lives, but she was only herself in both of them. She couldn't imagine trying to be someone else entirely with people that she cared about.

Touching him with just her tip of her finger, Felicity traced over the bones in his hand. His skin was calloused and rough, and it didn't take much to notice the strength in that hand. She knew it guided arrows with deadly precision, and she couldn't believe that people bought into the fact that he was just another billionaire playboy.

She ran her hand up his arm, covered by his hospital gown. She glanced towards the door, reassuring herself that no one was about to come in. Leaning over the side of bed, she drew her fingers over his face, almost memorizing him to the touch. She felt a little guilty, knowing he would never have let her get this close to him if he'd been awake. There were so many times that Felicity had been dying to smooth the skin on his face; to try and force him to let some of his worries go.

"Oliver," she whispered, "You need to wake up now. I know that you needed the rest, and no one has earned a break more than you." Her voice broke as she spoke softly in his ear. "But it's been a while now, and there are people who need their hero. Starling City needs you." She closed her eyes and barely breathed her next words, "And I need you."

Her phone vibrated, and she nearly jumped six feet into the air. Her confession was no surprise, but saying it out loud made it seem life altering. Her phone going off somehow made her feel caught. She picked it up from where she'd placed it on the table near the bed. It was just a text from Diggle, who was checking in. She answered him, letting him know that there was no change in Oliver's condition.

At least another hour passed, time moved strangely when you never left a hospital room, and Felicity must have nodded off in her chair. She woke at movement from the hand she still held grasped in hers.

She looked up and saw Oliver's head turned toward her with his blue eyes staring right into hers, and things in her world seemed to shift back into place.

"Oh, Oliver, thank God you're all right!" She pressed the back of her hand to her lips, trying not to burst into tears.

Still lying flat on the bed, he gave her a half smile.

"And who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2- Waking Up

"What?" In shock, Felicity slowly stood up. "What did you say?"

Oliver lifted an eyebrow. "I'm sure we must have had a good time last night, babe, but I have to be honest here, I don't remember any of it." His eyes roamed the hospital room, and then came back to her. "Strike that, we must have had a _really_ good time."

Felicity felt a sort of numbness settling in. She didn't want to process what he was saying to her. "Oliver, what's the last thing that you remember?"

His eyes narrowed as he tried to concentrate. "I was on the Gambit with Dad and—" he paused here and shot her a look, "with… someone else…"

"With Sara." Felicity breathed.

He looked at her more sharply, "You know Sara? How did you know she was there? Who exactly are you?"

"Oh my God, Oliver, how can you not remember?" Felicity collapsed back into the chair she'd been in for hours, her eyes wide with shock. Instinctively she reached out for his hand, and her heart almost stopped when he pulled back, away from her touch.

He lifted his hand to run it over his hair, and he froze. Moving slowly, as if through water, he ran his fingers over his scalp, then he brought his hand down to really examine it. He placed his other palm over his chest.

The look of casual arrogance faded entirely, and he shot her a look of fear when he barely recognized himself.

"What happened to me?" he asked her, his voice low and questioning. Felicity just shook her head, her fingers trembling as she sent an urgent text to Thea.

Pulling herself together, she stood up and called out the door for help.

The doctors and nurses hurried into the room, and Felicity drew back into the corner. The chair she had been living in the past day was shoved away from the bed to make room for Oliver Queen's medical team, and in that moment Felicity didn't feel any more significant than that chair. Unseen and unnoticed, Felicity turned and slipped out the door into the hallway.

It seemed like only minutes until Thea Queen came running around the corner.

"Felicity! What happened? Is he okay?" Felicity slipped into her role of Oliver's Executive Assistant.

"He was in a motorcycle accident, Ms. Queen. The doctors are with him now. He's stable, but there seems to be some kind of memory loss." She was proud of how calm and in control she sounded.

…

"I swear, I am going to personally set fire to that bike," Thea fumed as she pushed through the door into Oliver's private room, where he was sitting up on the bed.

"Ollie! Are you okay?" Thea shoved past the team of nurses and doctors, ran up to him and threw her arms around him.

"Thea…" Oliver breathed, then pushed her gently away from his chest to look at her. "The doctors were telling me… but I didn't believe them." His eyes raked over her, taking her in. "Years. They're telling the truth and it's been years." His voice was low, and Thea was afraid he was going into shock. Her eyes narrowed, trying to read what was going on.

"Ollie?"

"They said my trip on the Gambit was seven years ago. What the hell happened to me? Where's Dad? And Mom?" Oliver's voice started to raise, and Thea didn't know what to say to him. "Look at me? What the hell?" Thea's eyes filled with tears. "They've told me it's been years, but no one will tell me anything else." His voice dropped back down and his eyes were pleading. "Thea? Please?"

"Get out." Thea's directions to the staff were clear, and they were obviously the words of someone used to getting what she wanted. The room emptied in seconds. Thea reached down and pulled off her shoes, then crawled up onto the bed next to her brother. She made herself room and laid her head on his chest. Instinctively, his arm came up and wrapped around her shoulders. She felt exactly like the child he remembered.

"Ollie," she said, her voice already wavering, "we've had a rough time." In a low tone, leaving out any sordid details, Thea told Oliver how seven years ago he had gone on the Gambit with their Dad and Sara. Everyone, including her, believed that they had all been lost, but after five years he had been found on an island and brought back to them. It had been a real miracle. She skipped over the Undertaking, and her voice broke when she told Oliver that their mother had died only a few months ago. When he asked about the island, she could only shake her head. "You don't like to talk about it." When he asked about their mother's death, she told him, "I don't like to talk about it."

They lay there together, quiet, for what seemed like hours. Finally, Thea dragged herself up. She wiped her eyes, and stepped off the bed. "I should call somebody at Queen Consolidated and let them know what's happening." She dug her phone out of her pocket. "I'm sure you'll be back to normal soon, but until you are we need someone running the show there."

Slowly, as if he was waking up, Oliver spoke. "There was a woman in here when I woke up."

"Oh, right, I forgot about Felicity. She can take care of QC." Thea shoved her phone back in her pocket and headed for the door.

Oliver stopped her before she made it outside "Wait, Felicity? Who is she?"

"Oh, Felicity Smoak's your assistant. I'm honestly not even sure how she ended up being here before me, but she can handle the business side of things for now." At that, Thea pushed through the door into the hallway.

Oliver sat still in the hospital bed, reeling with all of the news he'd just been given. He'd just lost seven years of his life. In his mind there was almost nothing in stone, nothing that he was certain about, but there was one thing he knew in his gut. Felicity Smoak was not just his assistant.


	3. Chapter 3- Felicity Regroups

Despite leaving the room, Felicity didn't budge from outside Oliver's door. His memories could come back at any moment, and who knew what would happen? What if it came back in flashes and he didn't know what he was seeing? What if he said something that gave away how he spent his 'free' time? The only question Felicity wasn't willing to ask was what if his memory didn't come back at all. This Oliver, the one behind the door talking to Thea about all the horrible things that had happened to him, didn't even know who she was. It was a thought she wasn't ready to consider.

She was startled out of her musings when Thea burst through the door. "Felicity? There you are!" Thea sent her a grateful look. "Can you deal with whatever is happening at the office for a while? Oliver isn't going to be up for heading in at least a few days. Can you clear his schedule, or whatever?" Not noticing her blank look, Thea turned to go back into the hospital room, "Oh," she said, glancing back over her shoulder, "Can you bring us some coffee?"

Right, Felicity was Oliver's assistant, after all. Scheduling and coffee fetching should be her natural domain. As prepared as she had felt to handle anything, being asked to run errands left her frozen in place.

"I got this," she heard from behind her. She spun around, and saw Roy standing right behind her, with Diggle on his heels.

Without even thinking she gave Roy a quick hug and then threw her arms around Diggle. For just a few seconds it had felt like her whole world had collapsed, but seeing the guys come in reminded her that she wasn't alone. "How did you know?" She asked into Diggle's jacket.

"Thea texted, filled me in, and asked me to man the bar at Verdant." Roy, hands in his pockets, just shrugged. "I found someone else to do it. I figured that even if Oliver had no idea who I was, you could use the moral support. And coffee. Like I said, I'm on that." He wasn't exactly oozing confidence, but just the fact that he was there reminded Felicity that she wasn't the only person whose world was centered on the man in that hospital bed. Nodding at Diggle, Roy headed down the hallway in search of caffeine.

"How is he?" Diggle asked. Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed her hand and guided her to some nearby chairs.

"He doesn't remember… anything. He doesn't remember the island, which we're not even capable of filling him in on, and he has no idea who I... who _we_ are. He's not Oliver." Felicity sank into a chair, and Diggle sat down beside her. She felt like she was in limbo, just waiting for the rest of her life to slip into place. The question was whether it was going to stay on course or completely jump off the tracks.

"What do the doctors say?" Diggle asked, keeping her in the present.

"They haven't told me anything. I haven't felt like it was my place to ask since he woke up. I'm not anything to him here, just a glorified secretary. I'm just supposed to be arranging for beverages and adjusting his schedule. Oh, god, Thea asked me to find someone to cover at Queen Consolidated and I don't even know—"

"Stop it." Diggle cut her off firmly. "You mean just as much now as you did the minute before he opened his eyes. He may not have his memories, but that does not make him the man he was seven years ago. Whether he's aware of it or not, he's still our Oliver." He stopped, realizing that she was looking off into the distance and running checklists in her head. "Felicity. Look at me." She turned towards him, and she began to calm down the minute she looked into his eyes. "He needs you now, more than he even knows. You need to be there with him. Don't give up." She took a breath, and nodded.

Seeing he had her attention, Diggle continued. "Go find out what the doctors have to say. I'm pretty sure I remember you messing with some serious paperwork recently so we all had medical rights for one another." Felicity flushed, remembering that she'd hacked some files to be sure that the team got to be involved in medical decisions in case of an emergency. Oliver had given her permission, but now that he didn't even remember her it seemed extremely personal. "I'll get Walter on the phone, and then you can see if he'll either take over at QC or find someone else who can," Diggle continued.

He waited a beat to be sure that she had gotten herself together, and then he stood up. His hand was already on his phone when she grabbed his arm. He looked down at her.

"Thanks Digg." She said, smiling softly at him.

"You're welcome." He answered, "Now let's get to work." He started dialing, and Felicity looked down the hallway to see Roy returning with a tray loaded down with coffee. She nodded, then stood up and moved down the hallway to meet him.

"Roy," she said, already looking and sounding more like herself, "I am so glad that you came down here. Oliver would be too, if…" she trailed off for just a moment, then shook her head and moved on. "Anyway, I think I'm going to have to send you back to Verdant. If Thea sees you hanging around here it may raise more questions than it answers." She reached out to take the coffee tray from him. Before she did, she put one of her hands over his.

"I know this is whole thing is going to mess us all up. You showing up reminded me I'm not alone- now don't you go forgetting that." Roy looked at her, and she see feel him absorbing what she had said. He took a breath, nodded, and let her have the tray.

"I'll see you guys back at the foundry." He turned and headed for the exit. Felicity was already taking the phone from Digg, who was being told Walter wasn't available to come to the phone. As Felicity starting talking into the phone, Diggle had to bite back a smile.

"Who is this? Shanna, hi. This is Felicity Smoak for Oliver Queen. Can you have Walter please call me the minute that he becomes available? Tell him it's a family emergency. Thank you." She hung up before Shanna could respond and handed the device back to Diggle. "As soon as they call back, just give them to me." Without waiting for an answer she set down the coffee tray and walked over to the nurses' station.

"Excuse me," she asked the woman behind the desk. "I'm trying to get an update on Mr. Queen?"

The nurse looked at her for barely a moment, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, miss, but we only give updates to immediate family." She turned back to what she had been doing, and almost didn't see Felicity start to lean across the desk.

Before she could protest, Felicity had entered Oliver's name into the computer and had his records on the screen. Felicity scanned them in a blink, then backed away. The nurse was sitting still, shocked someone had dared to make such a move.

"Thanks for the update," Felicity said. "By the way, if you'd bothered to look, you would have found me on the immediate family list. Oliver Queen _is_ my family." She turned without waiting to see if the nurse looked at the file and headed back towards Oliver's room. She looked at it twice, but then gave in and picked up the coffee to bring inside.

Diggle, who'd watched the entire exchange with interest, did look to see if the nurse followed through. Over her shoulder he could see Oliver's immediate family list, and sure enough there they were. Right below Thea, Diggle could see Felicity's name, his own, and even Roy's. It was official and documented. Team Arrow was a family.


	4. Chapter 4- Oliver Visits QC

It had been two days since Oliver had lost his memory, and the team had spent most of that time on damage control. Diggle had donned the suit one night, just enough for the Arrow to get spotted, and Roy was doing his best to keep the criminals on their toes.

Roy's day to day life hadn't changed much, and with Oliver not really going anywhere except that one move from the hospital to his house, Diggle hadn't been needed. Felicity's life had altered somewhat radically in the past forty-eight hours. With Oliver Queen not coming in to work at all, his EA had quite a bit of paperwork and meetings to manage. Also, without her boss there to understand or even help make up excuses, she really had to get all these tasks completed. It didn't leave much time for Arrow business. It also reminded her quite clearly that she hated her job. The only thing that had made working as an assistant in Queen Consolidated tolerable was the fact that Oliver was there. He needed her, and she dealt with what came at her because he needed her to. After two days alone without him in the office, she was completely ready to walk out. At uncharitable moments she thought about how he wouldn't even miss her.

On their third night without Oliver in the Foundry, Felicity was monitoring the comms while Diggle and Roy did a quick sweep of the glades. It was Roy who asked the question that they'd been avoiding.

"So, are we gonna tell him?"

"Sure, Roy, I'll jump right on that," Felicity answered. "I can hear it now. 'So, Oliver, here's the deal. You were tortured and went through hell on some island, and now you spend your nights as the vigilante of Starling, saving the Glades and the city one soul at a time. Oh, and we play your back up team.' That sound about right?"

There was a silence over the system, then Roy replied, "Well, yes. Are we planning on that conversation?"

"Diggle, want to weigh in here?" Both Roy &amp; Felicity heard him sigh into the comms.

"This couldn't have waited until we were all back in the Foundry?"

"Apparently not," Felicity replied. "By the way, there's a car alarm going off about a block south of you, Roy."

"On it! You guys play the grown-ups and figure out what we're going to do, then fill me in after I take care of this." Felicity and Diggle heard Roy turn his comm off.

"So, Digg, want to be the grown up first? What do you think?" Felicity, desperately wanting Oliver back to himself, but totally unsure about the best move, was hoping Diggle had a plan.

"I think two days is too soon. Even if we did tell him, do you think he's up for crime fighting?"

Reluctantly, Felicity was forced to admit that they needed to wait, but she couldn't help but wonder how long it would take. "Hold on, let me take a look at his check up from today." It didn't even take seconds, as Felicity kept a window open linking her to Oliver's records at the Starling hospital. She scanned the update, which basically said that Oliver was physically fine. There was no visible trauma to explain his memory loss, and it could come back at any moment. Or it could not.

"All right, I'm willing to table this discussion for a week. At that point we're going to have to make some decisions."

"Agreed." Diggle answered.

"Sounds fine to me," Roy came back into the conversation. "Also, I left the car thief cuffed to the parking meter. Send an alert to the cops for me, would you Felicity?"

"Already done. Someone should be there in a few seconds."

…

Another two days passed, and Thea and Oliver had decided that maybe touring his life would be helpful. Since he was still living in the house that he grew up in, there weren't many places Thea knew to drag him besides work. Oliver had also decided that he was about ready for company outside of his baby sister.

Having only Thea around for days shoved in his face the reminder that she was literally all he had left. Both of his parents were gone, Tommy had died, and Laurel basically wanted nothing to do with him. He wasn't clear on the details of that, but since the last thing he remembered was leaving Starling City with her sister, he wasn't going to question it. Everything was confusing, from catching up on television to how much shopping he could take care of online. Between the changes in his family and the changes in the world, if he stopped to think about it, everything just became overwhelming.

It hadn't become public knowledge that Oliver was suffering from memory loss, and since he knew the same amount now that he had when taking over the company two years ago, he figured that he could handle it. From what he'd figured out during the last few days, his assistant Ms. Smoak was running everything just fine without him even in the building. He remembered her vividly from the hospital, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to seeing her again.

He and Thea rode the elevator up to the executive suites together, and as he stepped out onto the floor containing his office, his eyes soaked up the view. Of course the city skyline was visible, but it wasn't what caught his attention. Through the glass walls he could see Ms. Smoak sitting at her computer. She was tapping a blue pen against her lips, and her glasses were slipping down her nose as she stared at the monitor. Her straight blonde hair fell into her face, and he could tell whatever was on that screen had her undivided attention. That was, until she looked up.

From across the floor, her blue eyes hit his, and whatever else she had been thinking about was forgotten completely. For just a moment time seemed to pause, and Oliver felt himself begin to smile. He couldn't have told someone why, but just laying eyes on her seemed to make all of the other confusing parts of his life fall out of the way.

She didn't move at all as he crossed closer to the entrance to the office, but then Oliver remembered Thea was with him.

"Thea, I would really like to try today on my own." Thea came to a sudden halt at his side.

"But Oliver-"

"Ms. Smoak can make sure that everything goes fine." Oliver pulled his eyes away from his secretary and back to Thea. "She's fully aware of my condition, and she's been running the place for days, correct?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"No buts." Oliver cut her off. "I love you Thea, but you deserve a break from playing my babysitter. Go check in at this club you've been telling me about, and go see your friends. I'll be fine. Mr. Diggle, he's my driver if I remember correctly, can take me home, or you can come back and get me later." Oliver exuded self assurance, and Thea didn't have any good arguments, so she slowly turned and headed back onto the elevator.

By the time Oliver made it to the office entrance, Felicity had set down her pen, straightened the frames of her glasses, and smoothed her hair behind her ears. Oliver knew with certainty that his instincts at the hospital had been right. There was no way that this woman was just his Executive Assistant.

"So, Ms. Smoak." He leaned against the doorway, cocking his head and taking her in. "How has the office been running during my absence?"

It didn't escape his notice that her eyes fell away when he called her Ms. Smoak.

"Felicity, right? Do I normally call you Felicity?" His lips lifted in a flirtatious and knowing grin. "I'm pretty sure that you and I need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5- Oliver & Felicity Have a Talk

**A/N Thank you so much for the reviews! This is my first time writing a continuing story this long, and the words of encouragement really help me know someone other than me cares what happens next!**

**I've had a few questions asking me to clarify where Felicity &amp; Oliver were in their relationship before the memory loss. I'm attempting to place them after Season 2, before the premiere of Season 3. To be specific, this would mean that there was no kissing or "real" professions of love (as the characters deny that the finale "I love you" was real) from either character prior to the first chapter of this story.**

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"I'm pretty sure that you and I need to talk."

Felicity narrowed her eyes, trying to get a read on him. It was so strange, having him look like her Oliver, but not really be him. She'd been in the office without him for days, and the moment he'd stepped off of the elevator she'd known that he was there. It was like the air changed. She'd always known before when he entered a room, but this was the first time that she had no idea what to do. In the past she'd always been positive- ignore it and take care of her job. The problem was that being Oliver's secretary wasn't the job she was used to taking care of. What exactly was she supposed to say to him?

She knew that he'd spotted her the instant that he'd set foot on the floor. It was as though the glass walls around her office didn't even exist. Felicity had to assume that the reason he was paying such attention to her was because she was literally the only person in his life that he recognized other than Thea and maybe Laurel.

The second that his attention had been taken by Thea, she'd straightened up both herself and her desk. She was determined to try to look as much like the professional Executive Assistant she was supposed to be as possible.

Then he was there, lounging against the doorway. It was a pose she could barely imagine Oliver in. He almost never looked that relaxed. He often pretended to, but she had always known better. He was smiling at her like he knew something that she didn't, and she found it incredibly unnerving. Unable to find the box in her mind to stick this Oliver in, she decided to give up trying for the moment.

"Talk about what, Mr. Queen?" She finally asked him.

"I'm willing to bet that you usually call me Oliver." He pushed himself away from the door and slid his hands in pockets of his suit. Casually, he strolled over to her desk and propped himself up against it. "Am I right?"

Felicity wasn't sure how to answer him, but she figured she was going to have to lie to Oliver quite a bit in the near future, so she wanted to be as honest as she could.

"We don't tend to be very formal when no one else is around, it's true." There was a poignant pause, where Oliver just seemed to be staring at her. Normally Felicity could read his expressions, but to her frustration this Oliver was a complete puzzle.

"I have to ask you, Felicity," Oliver pulled one hand out of pocket and ran it slowly from her wrist to her shoulder as he spoke. "Are we anything else when no one is around?"

Felicity was pretty sure that she was about to faint. She could feel the trail that his fingers had made up her arm like it had burned, but her body felt frozen. She couldn't move. Her breath shortened and she actually began to feel light headed. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get control of herself.

Suddenly, as though she had actually been scalded, Felicity jumped out of her chair. She moved so fast that her desk chair toppled over, and while the clattering sound was probably deafening, Felicity's blood was rushing through her ears to the point where she couldn't tell.

Oliver's eyes got so wide it would have been comical if she hadn't been trying to stave off a panic attack. What if he did something like that again? If she was going to be truthful, she had spent what probably amounted to too much of her time imagining what it would be like to be wanted by Oliver Queen. But this wasn't Oliver, at least, not her Oliver. This was playboy billionaire Oliver, and he could break her heart easier than he could blink. She couldn't get a barrier between them fast enough. She moved to the other side of the desk, as if that would create a bulwark large enough to keep her safe.

"Mr. Queen," she said, "That kind of contact is entirely inappropriate." She was aiming for her best school-teacher voice, hoping he would get that he was being completely shut down. "I don't appreciate the insinuation that we're involved in any way other than professionally. We are not. I'm your assistant. I assist. In scheduling, and in coffee. Well, actually, I don't get the coffee. I mean, I could get the coffee." Felicity heard herself losing control and shut her eyes again. "Three, two…" She opened her eyes and tried to straighten up. "The answer to your question is no, we're not anything else." Even as calmly as she was able to deliver that line, she still kept the desk between them.

Oliver hadn't moved at all. He was still casually leaning against her desk as though she hadn't nearly had a meltdown in reaction to his touch. He pushed himself to standing before smoothly leaning down and righting her desk chair. Not once did he break eye contact. The room felt like it was filled with an electrical charge.

"Okay, Ms. Smoak." Oliver gave her the exact same smile he'd given her when he walked into the room. "Whatever you say." On that parting note, he turned and strolled into his office.


	6. Chapter 6- An Unexpected Reaction

Oliver walked into what was apparently his office and strolled over to take a seat at his desk. None of it looked familiar. He remembered being in the building, of course, but this place didn't resemble his father's set up at all. He'd done nothing but play on technology since he'd gotten home from the hospital, but things still seemed so different to him.

He turned his gaze out of the office and onto Felicity, who was sitting at her desk, once again tapping that blue pen against her bottom lip. Oliver couldn't help but smile just looking at her. Unlike everything else he didn't understand in his world, here was a mystery that he felt the urge to solve. Dealing with the loss of his family and so many years was just overwhelming, and Felicity Smoak could prove to be a lovely distraction.

It was blatantly clear that there was something else going on between them, but judging by her reaction to him they weren't simply hooking up on the sly. He hadn't done anything but touch her arm and she'd nearly thrown herself into the floor to get away from him. That moment had taught him two things very clearly. The first was that he loved touching her, and the second was that whatever was going on between them wasn't simple.

As he continued to watch her, it wasn't like he knew anything about this company he was supposedly running, she turned to look at him. Her lips moved, and he realized that she was talking to someone. She pressed a button on her desk, then rose out of her chair. As she neared the entrance to his office, he placed his elbows on the desk and leaned forward in anticipation.

"Mr. Queen, Ms. Laurel Lance is here to see you." Felicity spoke hesitantly, and the formal words didn't match her tone, but all he heard was Laurel's name. He felt like ice water ran through him, and he froze. "Oliver, do you want to see her? I can find a reason for you not to if that's what you want." Felicity's concern cut through to him, and he slowly sat up.

"Does she know that I don't remember… anything?" Oliver's voice was low, and any hint of the teasing she'd had to deal with since he got off the elevator was completely gone.

"Thea asked her to come and talk to you, and she filled Laurel in." For a moment Oliver ran through his last memory of Laurel. He'd kissed her goodbye before climbing in the boat with Sara. He'd been afraid of… so many things, and being with Sara had been his way to deal. And Laurel was here and she knew all about it, and Sara was gone. What must she think of him?

"Oliver?" Felicity's voice brought him back to the present.

He looked at her for a moment, before asking hesitantly, "Do you think I should see her?" Oliver hated it, but he honestly didn't have anyone else to ask. He didn't know what to say or how he would feel if Laurel walked through that door.

Felicity walked the rest of the way into his office until she was standing in front of him.

"Oliver, you need to see her." She looked him straight in the eyes and spoke with conviction. "She might be able to help you remember. You are getting along fine now; you're friends. Trust me." Felicity made sure that he was hearing her. "And you can trust Laurel." Felicity's firm tone gave him the reassurance that he needed. For some reason, he felt that if Felicity said it was fine, then it was.

He nodded once, and she nodded back. She spun around, moved out of the office, and pressed a button on her desk. Within seconds, the elevator door opened and Laurel walked out.

She was wearing a navy suit and looking flawless. In his memory she was so much younger, so happy and hopeful. Here in this reality she moved like she was on a mission. Her head was set high and her steps were clear and confident. Her expression was focused and intense. Oliver understood in a way that he hadn't moments before that the Laurel he knew didn't exist anymore.

She came just inside the doorway of his office. "Hi, Ollie." She tilted her head to the side. "Thea thought it might help if I stopped by." Her eyes looked him up and down, as if she was deciding what to do with him. "Is now a good time?"

Oliver was aware that now was just as good a time as any other. He certainly wasn't doing anything that he should be as CEO of Queen Consolidated. He wasn't even certain where to begin with that. Regardless, this woman in front of him was a stranger. He had expected to feel something when he saw her, and he tried to. There was certainly a heavy layer of guilt. He'd cheated on her with Sara, and the cost had been high. But under the guilt Oliver couldn't find the connection that he was looking for; that he had been hoping for. Before she had even set foot in his office, Oliver realized that this Laurel wasn't going to jog any memories. He barely recognized her.

…

Laurel didn't stay long. Within a few minutes things had gotten awkward. When her presence didn't seem to be helping his memory, she made her excuses and headed out. Even though she had felt like a different person to him today, that didn't mean that seeing Laurel had failed to shake something loose inside of him. If his Laurel, the one he just left behind days ago in his mind, had changed completely into this new version, how much had _he_ changed? She hadn't even left Starling City, and he'd been alone on an island for years. Who was he now, really?

"Everything all right?" Felicity had to come to the entrance of his office and was looking at him like she wanted to say something more. Oliver realized he was still standing from seeing Laurel out. He heaved a sigh and dropped back into his seat.

"I guess." He shuffled the mouse around on the desk, and when nothing changed on his blank screen he began to feel a sense of frustration.

"Can you come and get this to open up my email account? I can't seem to make it work how I want." Asking Felicity to come look at his computer brought out the first expression he'd seen on her face outside of caution and worry. She hurried around to his side of the desk and began clicking away on his computer. This time she didn't seem too concerned about invading his personal space. She was going on about adding extra security measures and firewalls, which created a need for a more extensive password setting, and he was only understanding half of what she was talking about.

Oliver made a note to ask her more computer related questions in the future. He was cheerfully listening to her continue with her speech, ignoring the fact that she might as well have been speaking Chinese, when a massive crash resounded through the room.

Before he could blink, Oliver had knocked Felicity down behind the desk. He found himself crouched protectively over her with a knife in his hand, scanning his surroundings for an attacker. Tension filled every muscle of his body, and he was ready for whatever came after them.

It was Felicity's hand on his arm that brought him back to sanity.

"Oliver, we're fine." He leaned away from her and his eyes started scanning up and down her, as though looking for injuries. "I'm fine, Oliver, we're both okay." She slid her hand down his arm until she reached the knife. He looked around again and saw a vase in the hallway smashed to pieces. There was a lady on the floor beside it picking up the ceramic shards off the tile.

Realizing what he'd just done, the tension drained out of him. He released the handle of the knife into Felicity's grasp. Where had it even come from? He went limp and slid to the floor with his back to his desk. Felicity shifted until she was sitting next to him. Without turning to look at her, this time he asked the question out loud.

"Who am I now, really?"


	7. Chapter 7- Who is Oliver, Really?

"Who am I now, really?"

Felicity sat still next to Oliver on the floor behind his desk. She could feel the shock coming off of him in waves. He didn't seem to be waiting on an answer to his question. Unlike earlier, Felicity felt just for a moment like she knew the man sitting next to her; like he wasn't a stranger. Oliver was trying to deal with his reaction, and she was prepared to stay there with him until he was ready to move. It was the kind of support she was more familiar with than that of his assistant.

"That wasn't the first time." Oliver's voice broke through the silence.

"What?" He hadn't turned to look at her. He was leaning forward, resting his forearms on his bent up knees. His hands dangled from his wrists, and his eyes were staring at them as though he didn't trust what they would do next.

"That wasn't the first time I've done that." He turned his head and his eyes locked onto hers. "I didn't freak you out at all. There's no way you would have reacted that way unless I've done that before."

With his eyes only inches from hers, Felicity had no idea how to lie to him. What should she tell him? She ran through her options at lightning speed. She could try and convince him it wasn't an ingrained instinct but a reaction to his recent accident. Or she could tell him it was island hold over, if he would buy that his reflexes had lasted through the past two years. What she knew for sure was that she wasn't telling him he moonlighted as a vigilante archer.

"Um…" His eyes held hers, waiting. She decided to try for a version of the truth. "Last year, after your mother was killed, you really went through a lot." When she mentioned his mom, Oliver turned away and closed his eyes. "You spent time making sure that you'd be able to defend yourself and those you cared about if something like that ever happened again."

He didn't respond, and it was a while before he moved. Felicity made no attempt to hurry him. She had no intention of getting off that floor before he did. It wasn't the first time that she had let Oliver know she cared by just being with him. As the silence stretched on, she started to become more aware of him next to her. She could feel his heat through the wool of his suit. It was definitely tailor-made for him, but even so the seams in the jacket appeared stretched to accommodate his broad shoulders. She felt the temptation to lean her head against his shoulder, both to comfort him and just because she wanted to.

"Where did the knife come from?" Oliver's question distracted her from the cut of his suit, and it was at least one she could answer honestly.

"I don't know. I haven't seen it before." She looked over at the underside of his desk. He followed her line of sight. In a sudden move, he reached across her to run his hand along the dark wood. As his body leaned over her, she could feel him surrounding her. His strength was so evident in front of her, and she realized in that second just how much she missed him. This past week without him had left a gaping hole, and Felicity realized that she was glad that she had this awful job as his assistant. At least he wasn't out of her life entirely. If she was just an IT girl downstairs, she wouldn't even be seeing him right now. His chest was almost pressed against her, and it took considerable self control to keep her distance.

"Found it." His voice interrupted her train of thought, luckily. She turned and followed his arm up to where it was examining a sheath that was fastened to the underside of the desk. As he drew back, Felicity didn't know whether to be sorry that he'd moved away or happy to have her space back.

Oliver pressed a hand on the floor and vaulted up. He immediately put out his hand to pull her up beside him. Felicity hesitantly placed her hand in his, and he pulled her to her feet with no more effort than it took him to breathe. He didn't let go immediately, and for a moment she just stood there, looking at their joined hands.

"Felicity, the knife?" His tone was one that was so familiar. She looked into his eyes, and for a second he was completely her Oliver. His features were schooled into that expression he made when she was obviously distracted and appreciating him for something other than his vigilante skills but he was pretending not to notice. She glanced down and saw his other hand held out for the knife.

"Oh, right." She put the handle of the blade in his palm, and hurried back to the other side of the desk. He crouched down and replaced the knife in its sheath.

"You're going to leave it there?"

"Well, I obviously put it there for a reason." He just shook his head. "Can't imagine why I'd want a knife hidden in my high-rise corner office," he mused. Felicity had a few mental flashbacks of times that a conveniently located knife would have come in handy.

"You're right, it's a good idea to leave it. You never know," she said, nodding in agreement. They might need it someday. In the meantime, she knew that she needed to get Diggle and Roy on the phone. At the rate things were going, decisions regarding Oliver's knowledge about the Arrow needed to be made right away.

"Felicity, I'm going to want to know, you are aware of that, right?" Oliver looked at her, no longer wearing his all knowing smile. His expression was a serious one.

She froze. There were so many things that statement could be leading in to, not the least of which was her question of whether or not to tell Oliver about his nighttime job. Felicity took a deep breath and calmly faced him.

"Know what?" She asked.

"First, I want to know why you were with me at the hospital when I woke up. Thea hadn't even been notified. If I'd been going or coming from a work function I would have been able to figure that out from my planner. So that brings me to the question as to why my Executive Assistant is the person holding vigil at my bedside. Second, I want to know when someone tried to hurt you and whether or not I took care of them."

She had been so thrown by the first question she couldn't make sense of the second.

"When someone tried to hurt me? What are you talking about?"

Oliver looked at her steadily. "You said that I learned to defend myself and those I care about. Obviously at some point I was defending you. What happened, and did I take of it?"

Stalling, Felicity turned and walked towards the office door. She didn't even have to think before scenes in their history flashed before her eyes. She could see Oliver saving her time after time: from the Huntress, and the Count, and finally Slade. Taking a deep breath, Felicity couldn't lie to this man about this.

She turned back to face him. "As to your recent accident, I don't see any benefit to dwelling on past events. And as to the other, Oliver Queen, you always take care of me… and everyone else in your life." He didn't respond right away, looking at her like he was trying to read her mind.

She left his office and headed straight to her workspace. She was done for the day. Her phone gleamed on her desk, and she made a quick call to Diggle. She let him know that he needed to come take Oliver home and then head to the Foundry for a meeting. Felicity dropped her tablet and phone into her bag and slipped the strap over her shoulder. With a quick glance into his office, she could see Oliver sitting in his desk, calmly watching her. Had he done anything else in the last ten minutes? Or the entire time he'd been there?

"Mr. Queen, Mr. Diggle will pick you up at the front of the building in about fifteen minutes. If you choose to come in tomorrow, then I'll see you then." Felicity turned sharply and headed for the elevator. She hadn't made it a step before she could hear him muttering.

"Are we seriously back to Mr. Queen again? I thought we were making progress."

She stepped onto the waiting elevator and made her escape. As soon as the doors closed behind her, she leaned against a side panel and closed her eyes. The day had been an emotional roller coaster. Or maybe a train wreck. She hadn't decided yet. Before she could bury herself in her thoughts, her phone started vibrating. She pulled it from her bag and looked down to read the message from Oliver. _"Don't think we're done. Meet me at Verdant at 9:00." _

Now, how was she supposed to answer that?


	8. Chapter 8- Night at Verdant

The girl sitting in front of him had on one of the tightest red dresses that he'd ever seen. At least, that he could remember. She was perched on the tall chair beside him and was leaning over the table in a way that gave Oliver an amazing view. She tilted her head, and her long brown hair slid over her shoulder. She was giggling, although for the life of him Oliver couldn't remember if he'd said anything funny.

He lifted his glass to his lips, taking another drink of his scotch. He'd gotten to Verdant ages ago and had jumped right into the party. The drink in his hand was at least his fifth, or maybe his seventh, since he'd been there. His head had been a mess for the past week, and all he wanted to do was forget the fact that he was supposed to be remembering anything. The girls were pretty, the drinks were flowing, and the music was good. For the first time since leaving the hospital Oliver knew what he was supposed to be doing with himself.

Thea had been by to check on him a couple of times, but since he didn't look ready to either have a panic attack or run away never to be seen again, she was content to give him his space. Apparently for the night she was willing to remember that he was a grown adult. Whether or not he was going to act like it, he hadn't decided yet. The lovely brunette next to him, Vanessa or Vivian or something, had been ready to leave with him within the first five minutes after he walked in the door, and Oliver was considering taking her up on her offer.

He honestly might have left with her already, but even through the haze of alcohol he was rapidly building up, he knew it was a certain blonde that he'd come to the place looking for. He wasn't positive of the time, but surely she should have been there by now. It was possible she wasn't coming. She'd been trying to avoid him most of the day, his freak out moment notwithstanding, and he didn't know why he thought that she might turn up voluntarily.

The nails of Vivian, or Vanessa, were trailing over his leg under the table, and Oliver decided that he was done waiting around. He'd already missed the last seven years. He reached down and grabbed her hand.

"Let's get out of here," he said, sending her a look of pure invitation. Grasping his hand, a smile lit up her face and she slid off of the seat. He started to get up, and that's when he noticed that the room was spinning, but only a little. He'd get over it. Surely Vivian could find the way to the door. His car and driver were out there somewhere. Oliver maneuvered her in front of him, then placed his hand on the small of her back so he wouldn't lose her.

"Seriously? Your first night out?" He would swear that she had appeared out of thin air. Suddenly he was looking down and meeting Felicity's blue eyes, which were most certainly casting a look of judgment on him. It was that look that set him off. He'd been looking for her the entire night, and then she shows up and looks at him like that?

"What, jealous?" His response may have been petty, but she'd been the one keeping him waiting. Oliver Queen didn't wait for hours around a bar hoping his _secretary_ showed up, for God's sake. Even if she was blatantly more than that. "Say the word, Felicity, and you can totally have her spot in my car. And other places."

She froze in front of him, and even his drunken self realized that he'd crossed a line. Felicity turned and was headed for the door before he could process what had just happened, and Oliver took off after her. Vanessa was completely forgotten on the dance floor.

"Felicity!" Oliver yelled across the crowd, but she didn't slow her pace in the slightest. Shoving people out his way, he followed her out the door and across the street. He caught up with her as she reached her car. Felicity yanked on the handle of the car door, but before she could open it enough to get in, Oliver's hand shot out from behind her and closed it. He didn't move his hand away from the car, loving the way that she felt standing so close, almost in his arms.

The alcohol had obviously rid him of any inhibitions that he might have had remaining. He slowly moved even closer, and Felicity made no move to stop him. He could almost see the fury was still coming off of her, but it was mixed with something else that was breaking him. His careless comments had hurt her, and he didn't know how to take it back. He hadn't meant anything by them; he wasn't used to anyone really caring what he said. No one ever took him seriously, at least no one that he remembered. He had no idea how to handle this, and she wasn't helping.

Felicity stood still in front of him, facing the car. It was easier without her looking at him; looking at him in a way that he didn't understand. What did she want from him? He leaned his head down and murmured in her ear. "I'm sorry." She didn't respond, but she didn't push him away, either. Slowly, giving her every opportunity to put a stop to him, he took his free arm and wrapped it around her, pulling her back to press against him. He wasn't thinking clearly or he wouldn't have gotten so close to her to begin with, but his mind blanked out even more with the feel of her against him. She fit perfectly. What was that scent? Sunflowers? The ocean?

"Does sunshine have a smell?" His voice was low and husky, but the question seemed to break Felicity out of her reverie.

"Oliver, you're drunk." Her tone was soft and resigned, but at least she didn't sound like she wanted to kill him. She stepped out of his arms, and he groaned, missing her immediately. She turned around to face him, already texting on her phone. He just watched her until she looked up. "Diggle is coming around the corner. If you'd like to keep both of your hands attached to the rest of you, I suggest you keep them to yourself."

Even as she was talking, Oliver saw his car and driver pull up beside him. He'd forgotten everything but the urge to get Felicity back in his arms, but he didn't know what to do or say to make that happen. Mr. Diggle opened the rear car door and practically poured him into the back seat. As the door shut behind him, Oliver couldn't help but look back at her. She watched him until the car started moving away from the club. He felt a moment of anxiety until he saw her get into her own car, which he realized was because he was worried about her. He didn't want to leave her just standing out there- it wasn't safe. His emotions were a scrambled mess almost as bad as his memories.

He turned around in the seat to look towards his driver. "So, Mr. Diggle."

"Yes, Mr. Queen?" His tone seemed formal, and Oliver wasn't in any condition to analyze the slightly sarcastic undercurrent.

"Are we friends? Sorry if that's rude, but I seem to find myself at a loss these days." The man's eyes met Oliver's in the rear view. He paused for a long time. Oliver had almost forgotten what he asked before the response came.

"Yes, we're friends."

"Great!" He replied immediately. "Can you tell me what's going on between me and my assistant? Because there's obviously something, but I can't figure it out. You're with me all the time, surely you know?"

Again with the great pauses. Was there a required processing time with this guy?

"Ms. Smoak is a friend of mine as well, Mr. Queen. If you want to know something about her, then you're going to have to convince her to tell you." Frustrated, Oliver dropped his head back against the seat.

"In my memory I haven't succeeded yet in convincing Felicity to do anything that she didn't want to do."

"You're not wrong," was the reply from the front seat.

…

Later, as Oliver was trying to sleep, it would occur to him that he'd felt more awake in those two minutes with Felicity than he had the entire night at the club. He was determined to figure out who this new Oliver was, and he was sure that Felicity was the key.


	9. Chapter 9- Oliver Gets Bored

The foundry lights were low as the team looked at each other. Felicity was sitting in her chair while Roy and Diggle were leaning against a nearby table.

"So, what's the plan?" Roy looked expectantly at Diggle, then swung his gaze to Felicity. "I say we tell him what's up, then see if we can't just talk him into giving the job a shot."

"You haven't been around him, Roy. It's not that simple." Diggle's tone was resigned. "He may have the skill set, but he doesn't have the control and the experience. I'm not sure that we can put him in the suit." Diggle's eyes moved to Felicity. He was unsure, but his expression showed that he was obviously willing to be talked into bringing Oliver down to the Arrow Cave.

Felicity had been calmly listening to her friends' opinions, and she had come to a conclusion. "We're not telling him." She pictured in her head Oliver's relaxed face as he leaned against the doorway to her office. "He doesn't have memories of torture, he hasn't experienced hell, and he doesn't feel the weight of the entire city resting on his shoulders." She put both hands on her chair and pushed herself to standing. "Even if he could be the Arrow, he doesn't have to be, and he deserves this one chance, this second chance, to actually be happy. We're his friends, and we're not going to be the ones to take it away." Diggle was silent, accepting her words. Roy's eyes were wide.

"But what about us? What do we do now?" Roy's question echoed through the room.

…

The next day at the office Felicity had accomplished almost nothing. Oliver had been there all day. She had let him attend one meeting that morning where he just had to be charming and win over an investor. That had worked out well enough. There might be one or two more meetings this week that she'd consider letting him take part in.

Except for the hour he'd been at the meeting, he'd been lounging around his office. She could occasionally hear sounds of videos playing, and she guessed he was catching up either on television or real life. His feet were propped up on the desk beside the computer, and she swore that almost every single time she looked up he was staring at her. It was utterly impossible to function.

She was determined to at least get a little more work in before completely throwing in the towel, so she moved from her desktop to her tablet and turned her chair to face the opposite direction of Oliver's office.

Her ploy was successful for a while. There had been a few odd noises, but she had refused to give into temptation and turn around. The sound of him softly calling her name pulled her away from her work. "Felicity," she heard him call her like he was trying to persuade a puppy to give back a toy. "Come on, Felicity, I need you!" Hearing him say that he needed her, even in this ridiculous context, sparked something in her, but she still held out. "Felicity, I busted my computer!"

The destruction of his computer was her breaking point. She tossed her tablet aside and stood up. She strode into his office with purpose, fully prepared to berate him on his abuse of his technology when she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oliver, what the hell…" Opposite the entrance to the door a jagged target was scratched into the wall.

"Finally! Felicity, check this out!" Oliver was standing beside her, facing the target. He had his knife in his hand, the one from under his desk, and before she could protest, he'd taken aim and thrown it at the wall. It landed in the center of the bull's-eye with solid thud. He turned to look at her stunned face with a clearly proud and delighted expression. "Did you know I could do that?" Felicity was just standing there, with her mouth slightly gaping. "I've thrown it from all over the room, and I have haven't missed once. I have no clue why or how, but I am good at this."

She finally was able to develop a coherent statement. "Oliver," she spoke clearly and calmly. "What possessed you to set up target practice on your Executive Suite wall?"

"Well, it's my wall." He just shrugged. "I figured I could do what I wanted with it."

"Good grief Oliver, what I am supposed to do with you?" Her voice was soft, and her question was a serious one.

"Anything," was Oliver's not so serious reply. He lifted an eyebrow at her, and gave her another shrug. It was clearly an invitation, but his tone was light and playful, and Felicity couldn't stay irritated with him. She just shook her head with a small sigh, and Oliver moved across the room back to his desk. He leaned over and slid the knife back into its sheath before dropping into his office chair. "Felicity, I am bored. This cannot be how I spend every day. If you can't find me something to do, I can't promise that every wall in this building won't become a stabbing victim." He leaned back in his chair, moving his feet back to their resting spot on top of the desk.

"You are doing everything that you're capable of accomplishing at the moment." She could tell that he wasn't joking about the boredom. She knew that if he didn't have something to occupy his time he was probably going to do something that she would live to regret. "You did great at that investor's meeting this morning." He just rolled his eyes in response to the compliment.

"All I did was stand there and look pretty." Oliver's blue eyes made contact with hers, "So thanks for noticing how well I accomplished that goal." Felicity felt heat rush to her face at his insinuation, but chose to ignore him. When he realized that he wasn't going to get a response, Oliver just smiled.

Suddenly, Oliver slid his feet to the floor and stood up. He moved with such purpose that Felicity took a step back. He came around the desk until he was standing in front of her. "Let's get out of here."

It was not at all what she expected him to say. "What are you talking about? We have work. I have work; I can't just leave." She stepped back, trying to gain some distance, and her back hit the wall behind her. He didn't move to close her in, but she felt cornered nonetheless.

"I'm the boss, and I say we're done." Felicity shook her head at him.

"You're welcome to leave, Oliver, just call Diggle and go home. I need to stay here."

He was having none of it. "No, you have to come. I don't know what's okay and not okay for the CEO of Queen Consolidated to be doing in public. It's all brand new, remember? If you don't come with me, who knows what kind of horrible trouble I'll land myself in? I could make a scene. I could be all over the papers tomorrow."

Felicity was not a fool. She was being blackmailed. The only question was whether or not she would give in. Did she care enough about Oliver to keep him out of trouble tonight?

There was a long pause while the two of them just looked at each other, waiting for one of them to cave. It was Felicity who broke the silence.

"Let me get my purse."


	10. Chapter 10- A Night Out

**A/N This is the longest chapter I've written for this story, but there's a lot that's going to happen tonight! **

* * *

"Tell me again why we didn't let Diggle drive?" Felicity asked as Oliver gave directions to the cab driver. He leaned back against the seat and turned his head to face her, and he couldn't stop himself from sweeping his eyes over her. She was in the same outfit she'd worn to work, it having never occurred to her to ask to change. Even if she had asked to go home, he wouldn't have wanted to take her. He didn't want to give her a chance to change her mind and bail on him.

He loved how she seemed to glow in the dress she was wearing. She looked adorable in a yellow outfit that was fitted on top and then flared at the waist until it stopped just above her knees. It had a green and yellow belt that cinched around her waist, and of course her green heels matched flawlessly. He couldn't remember a girl he'd gone out with before that wasn't worried that she was dressed perfectly for each and every occasion. It was just one more way that Felicity Smoak was different. She didn't even seem all that concerned with knowing where they were going.

"Diggle always seems to be waiting on me to say or do something. It's unnerving to have someone watch you like they know you, especially when you barely know yourself." Oliver lifted his arm and laid it across the back of the seat. Felicity eyed his arm and sent him a warning look, but she didn't push him away.

"I know you. Why don't you want to avoid me?" Her question sounded sincere, but Oliver couldn't believe that she didn't get why he wanted her around.

"You can't be serious." As he said the words, he started to run his fingers through the blonde hair she'd gathered into a ponytail. Apparently that was too much, as she reached up and snagged his sleeve. She pulled his arm away from her and moved his hand until it was back on his own side of the car.

"I get that you want to flirt or whatever, which Diggle certainly wouldn't be ideal for, but there are a million other girls out there. Why can't you flirt with one of them? It would be much less complicated for us both." Felicity's tone was genuinely confused.

"I could," Oliver admitted. He dropped the teasing tone to answer her. "But right now the only person I want to flirt with is you."

Felicity just stared at him for a moment. "Oliver, I know you, that's true, but you don't know me. I'm pretty sure I'm winning this lottery purely because I'm the only face you recognize and you're clinging to what's familiar." She turned around to face the front of the cab, not noticing the look of pure bewilderment on Oliver's face. "Tonight we'll find you a nice girl to flirt with, and you can entertain yourself with her, and then you'll be able to leave me alone. Okay? Okay."

Oliver just looked at her as the cab pulled up in front of a somewhat degenerate looking bar. "Okay, Felicity. Look around for me, and tonight I'll take home the prettiest girl in the bar." She gave him an approving smile, and he just shook his head. Obviously no one in this place was going to be prettier than she was. He got out of the car, and Felicity had already opened her door and started for the entrance before he could get to her.

"Waiting for me would be nice," he muttered.

Following her through the door, Oliver felt at home. It was a bar that he used to frequent when he wanted to avoid the press. It wasn't fancy and no one in it was there to see or be seen. The crowd that evening was light. There was a band playing, a space left open for dancing, and a back entrance to a room with a couple of pool tables. The dilapidated outside was somewhat deceptive, as the inside was well kept and clean.

She stopped, unsure of where to go, and Oliver placed his hand on the small of her back. It felt like it belonged there, and he was sure, memory or no memory, that he'd done that a thousand times before. Felicity had stiffened up for just a second, but then the tension had ebbed and she let him guide her towards the back room.

The room was well lit, and a few pool tables stood throughout the room. Oliver moved away from Felicity and walked straight to the back corner, taking off his suit jacket as he went. He tossed it on a chair, and his tie followed right behind it.

"Felicity Smoak," he said as he rolled up his shirt sleeves, "I challenge you to a game of pool." She stood her ground in the doorway for a second, then moved confidently over to the table. She tossed her handbag on top of Oliver's jacket.

"So, Oliver Queen, what do I get if I win?" Oliver was thrilled with her reaction. True, he had acted like getting her to play was a sure thing, but honestly he hadn't known if she would agree.

"Winner gets a kiss from the loser?" Oliver cocked an eyebrow. It never hurt to try.

"I don't think so," was her reply. "If I win… I want a week's vacation whenever I want. Even if I want it right now." Oliver hesitated; the thought of her leaving him almost made him panic. Suddenly this had become a high stakes game. "So, Oliver, what do you want if you win?"

Oliver never broke eye contact. "My original offer stands. If I win, I want a kiss." He smiled. "You game?"

The gleam in Felicity's eyes let him know that this wouldn't be an easy game to win, but Oliver Queen never backed down from a challenge.

…

"Eight ball, side pocket." He hadn't been wrong. He let Felicity break, and she practically ran the table. Apparently pool was among her many talents. As he watched her lean over the table, he couldn't help but admire her form. Her skirt was a little short for such things, but Oliver wasn't complaining about the view. His only hope for winning at this point was if she scratched while pocketing the eight ball. He could dream. Or he could cheat.

As she lined up her shot Oliver moved in behind her. As she took aim, he plotted his move, and as she took the shot Oliver stepped right up to the table beside her. He pressed against her side, loving the feminine feel of her dress fluttering around him almost as much as he loved her gasp as he trailed his hand up her back. He swept it from the hollow of her spine all the way to her shoulder.

Her shot went wild and the eight ball flew off into a corner pocket with the cue ball right behind it. Oliver barely noticed. All he wanted to was to get his hands on more of Felicity. He heard her groan, and she rested her forehead on her outstretched arm.

She straightened up, pushed him back, and shot him an evil look. "You are aware that what you just did was highly illegal and you forfeited the game, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Oliver replied, with large, innocent eyes. "Another round? What do you want to drink?" Oliver was only on his second drink of the evening, determined that the night wasn't going to end with him getting poured into the backseat of a car. Felicity, on the other hand, was on drink four and going strong. He wasn't sure if she was trying to drown some demons or just seriously cut loose, but for whatever reason she didn't seem to be holding back tonight.

It was almost depressing that she'd beaten him that badly at pool even after all the alcohol. Fortunately, just being around her was such fun that he didn't really care that he'd technically lost the game. Of course, he'd never admit he lost since the stakes included her disappearing for a week, but he knew she'd kicked his ass.

"Oliver Queen, are you trying to take advantage of me?" Felicity propped one hip against the pool table, and he was sure that she was prettiest thing that he'd ever seen.

"Never. At least, I don't think ever. Have I ever?" He cocked a grin at her, dying for her to reveal something about their history.

"Taken advantage?" Felicity tilted her head, squinted her eyes, and screwed up her face as though she was concentrating hard. "Nope. No advantage taken."

"Well," Oliver said as he moved in close, "Maybe I should start." Trapped against the pool table, Felicity stood still as Oliver moved to press against her. His eyes left contact with hers and drifted down to her lips. They were a vivid pink color and seemed like a target. As proven earlier, he had good aim. Slowly, he lowered his head until his lips brushed against hers. He was thrilled when she made no move to stop him. Her lips were so soft, and once again Oliver couldn't think of anything to describe her but sunshine. She lit him up all over, just from that light contact. He pulled back for just a moment, then he pressed his lips against hers again. Her hand came up to rest against his shoulder at the same time that his moved to cup her cheek.

The crash of the cue stick on the floor caused them jump apart. Felicity had completely forgotten that she'd still been holding it.

They maintained eye contact for a second, and there didn't seem to be enough air in the room. Oliver was breathing heavily, and Felicity seemed just as stunned. Oliver shook his head to break the moment, then he bent to retrieve the pool stick, taking a minute to process. He'd kissed a lot of girls. Even without the memory of his last seven years, the number was too high to count. No one had ever felt like she belonged in his arms as much as Felicity Smoak. It was almost unnerving to have such a reaction to someone and not really know what was going on.

As he set the cue stick on the pool table, he rested his hands on it. Turning his head to face her, he saw that she hadn't moved.

"You can't tell me that you've been in my office for the past two years and that's the first time we've done that." Oliver just didn't believe it. He'd wanted to kiss her since opening his eyes in the hospital and had barely held out a week. There was just no way that he'd resisted kissing those lips for years.

"We haven't," was her soft reply. She looked too stunned to be lying to him. She lightly touched her fingertips to her lips, and Oliver had to resist the urge to go over and drag her back into his arms.

"What in the hell was wrong with me?" Oliver's question could have sounded like a joke, but she understood, even through her filter of strawberry daiquiris, that he was asking seriously.

"You didn't want me like that. You've had plenty of other women in your life, Oliver." He just shook his head. There was no way he hadn't wanted her. Whatever had been holding him back, it wasn't that. "Oliver, I think I've been out long enough for tonight. Will you take me home?"

He didn't want to. He wanted to keep her out; to keep her with him. He wanted to figure out what this was between them.

"Of course. Let's go." He pulled out his cell phone to call a cab, then grabbed his jacket. Felicity wasn't so far gone that she wasn't walking straight, but she was more than slightly tipsy. He knew taking her home was the right move. He held her arm to steer her towards the door, but when she stumbled on her heels he wrapped his arm around her waist. They pushed through the small crowd in front of the band and headed for the exit.

Outside the door, Oliver paused and pulled out his phone to check on the cab. It was in that moment that Felicity was ripped out of his hold. Before he could process what was happening, his arms were being pulled behind him. In front of him he saw a man holding Felicity with one hand while the other placed a knife against her throat.

Adrenaline shot through Oliver immediately, and while he wasn't sure exactly what he was about to do, it didn't even occur to him to be afraid. He knew without a doubt that the only person who should be afraid was the one threatening to hurt Felicity.


	11. Chapter 11- Instincts

**A/N I had to write this chapter for Oliver and Felicity, but its more fluff than any other chapter in this story so far. If you enjoy it, I'm glad! If you hate it, skim through and I think that we'll get back to our regularly scheduled story pacing in the next chapter. **

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Adrenaline shot through Oliver immediately, and while he wasn't sure exactly what he was about to do, it didn't even occur to him to be afraid. He knew without a doubt that the only person who should be afraid was the one threatening to hurt Felicity.

Before either Oliver or the two men holding him understood what was happening, Oliver threw back his right elbow and landed it squarely in the face of one of his attackers. Oliver swung his left leg back in an arc and knocked the other man's feet out from under him. With one hand he followed the kick with a solid hit to the head while his other hand swiped the handle of a knife blade from the assailant's grip. With a dense thud the man hit the ground, unconscious and unarmed. The first man had slightly recovered from being struck in the face and swung an arm out at him, but Oliver swiftly took him out, grabbing his arm and flipping him through the air. He landed on the pavement with a crash, and he wasn't getting up this time.

Oliver wasn't even breathing heavily. He looked up and coolly met the eyes of the man still holding Felicity. He was tense, but completely confident that there was no way that he would let this attacker hurt her. The man held on to her as he started backing further into the alley between the buildings, and Oliver calmly assessed the situation. He lifted the knife and threw it directly into the man's shoulder, right behind Felicity's head. The man screamed, dropping his own knife and his grip on Felicity. He turned and ran as Felicity fell to her knees on the pavement.

There were no questions or concerns in Oliver's mind except Felicity. He dashed forward to kneel in front of her.

"Hey, you're okay. It's okay, it's over." Felicity raised her head and looked up at him.

"Oliver?" He figured she was confused by the alcohol and the stress of the attack. Some of her hair had come loose from her ponytail and had fallen in front of her face. He gently tucked it behind her ear.

"Of course, yes, it's me. I'm here." She launched herself into his arms, and he nearly fell backwards in surprise. She buried her face in the curve of his neck, and all he wanted to do was sit and hold her. The problem was that they were still sitting on the pavement of a public sidewalk with unconscious attackers lying only a few feet away.

"Let me get you back inside, and then I'll call the police. We'll probably have to answer a few questions, but I'm sure I can get us out of here pretty quickly. It may have been a while, but it only feels like a few weeks since I was talking myself out of trouble." Felicity went still in his arms. "Felicity? Are you okay?"

She slowly pulled back from him enough to look up at his face. "For a moment, I thought that you … never mind. We don't need to wait around on the police." She bit her lower lip and looked at him for a moment as though she were searching for something. He didn't know what, but he held her gaze. She must have found what she was looking for, because after a moment she closed her eyes and leaned back into him. She rested her head against his shoulder. "Trust me, just take me home."

Oliver was hesitating to just leave when he noticed someone else in the shadows. His grip on Felicity tightened and he tensed for action as a man in a red hood stepped out from the back of the alley. "I'll take care of them, and the one who ran. Get her out of here." Sensing that the man wasn't a threat, Oliver felt the tension ease.

"Oliver, let's go," Felicity's voice murmured against him, and he agreed that it was time for them to leave. He snatched her bag from the ground where it had dropped and stood up, and her arms wound around his neck. He scooped her up, and he was grateful that she let him. After watching that man attack her, he needed to feel her close to him. He needed to feel that she was there and okay. Soon he was going to want some answers about what had just happened, but for now he just wanted to take care of her. He shot one last look at the man in the hood, but now wasn't the time for questions.

The cab he'd ordered what felt like days ago was waiting on the curb when he came out of the alleyway. He managed to get the door open and set her on the seat. She slid across to make room for him, and as soon as he was inside he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. Felicity leaned against his chest and let him hold her.

They were silent the entire car ride. It wasn't until the cab pulled up in front of the Queen mansion that Felicity reacted. She lifted her head and looked up at the house through the cab window.

"Um, Oliver, I know I said take me home, but I meant my home." Oliver ignored her. He wasn't letting her out of his sight. He was drowning in questions and at the same time felt like he would go crazy if he couldn't keep his eyes on Felicity and be sure that she was safe. He paid the driver and climbed out of the cab. He reached back and took her hand to help her out of the car. It was probably a testament to how much she'd had to drink that night that she let him pull her from the cab without any further protest.

He put his hand on her back, guiding her into his house. Oliver pulled the door open and it felt like he could breathe easier the moment she crossed the threshold into pretty much the only place in the world that he felt comfortable in. She walked into the main floor of the house, and Oliver didn't stop moving. He ushered her up the stairs and into his room. She paused at the doorway, unsure.

"Oliver, I haven't—" He interrupted her with a gentle push on her back, and she stepped into the room. He closed the door behind them, then he moved around her when she stood frozen a few steps inside. He walked to his massive closet and disappeared. It only took him a moment to find one of his t-shirts. He came back out and gently turned Felicity until she was facing his bathroom.

"Here's a shirt. You can change if you want. Or not. Take your time." She threw him a questioning look, but for the first time Oliver could remember she followed his directions without a threat or a bribe. She moved into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

As the door shut, Oliver sank into an armchair across the room. He had avoided thinking about what had happened other than making sure Felicity was okay. He had managed to completely take down multiple guys without even trying. Where had he learned to do that? It was almost scary that he hadn't hesitated to take on the men that were trying to hold him. What if they had hurt her while he was fighting them? Why in the hell was he even capable of that?

Thinking of the moment where he'd thrown the knife at the man holding Felicity made his chest feel tight. He let his eyelids close and leaned forward, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. What if the man had hurt her? Worse, what if Oliver had missed, and _he'd _hurt her? Throwing the blade hadn't been something that he'd thought about. He hadn't stopped and considered that he'd been able to hit a target earlier in the day; during the entire incident from start to finish he had run on instinct. How did even know if he could trust those instincts? How did he trust himself?

The door to the bathroom opened, and he looked up. She completely took his breath away. She'd trusted him to drag her out of there and then back to his house. Why?

Felicity stood there in nothing but his t-shirt. Her hair was down and tucked behind her ears. His shirt hung longer than some of her dresses, but seeing her in his clothes brought out a feeling he really didn't want to analyze. Her clothes and purse were bundled into her arms and at first she seemed hesitant, but as she took him in, her demeanor shifted to concern.

"Oliver? Are you okay?" She was asking him that? Did he look as messed up as he felt? He couldn't resist an overwhelming urge to be honest.

"I threw a knife into a guy an inch from your head and left the aftermath to some stranger in a leather hoodie. No, I'm not okay. How can you even ask me that? What's happened to me in the past seven years that it's even possible that I might be okay right now?" He felt so overwhelmed, and imagined that what he was feeling might be the warning signs of mental breakdown.

"You wouldn't have hurt me, Oliver. I promise." She came to stand in front of his chair, and he looked away. "You would never hurt me, and you wouldn't let them hurt me." She knelt on the plush carpet in front of him, just dropping her things beside her onto the floor. She placed her hands on his knees and her blue eyes gazed into his.

He looked back at her. "How can you possibly know that?" Oliver practically whispered, his voice was so soft. He just couldn't understand how she could be so sure.

Felicity looked at him for a moment, and then she suddenly lunged up and fused her mouth to his. If she'd meant for it to serve as a distraction, it worked. Within seconds he'd completely forgotten about all the other things that were threatening to drown him and all he could feel was her. Nothing between them was actually touching except her hands against his knees and her lips against his, but those points of contact became his whole world. She pulled away a moment later, sinking back to sit flat on the carpet. Oliver started to slide forward and follow her to the floor when Felicity put her hand against his chest, stopping him.

He sat back, willing to let her take the lead for the night.


	12. Chapter 12- The Night Isn't Over

**A/N Thank you very much to reviewers who have made a few suggestions! I've taken them to heart and they've done a bit of shaping and improving to some chapters. Please tell me what you'd like to see more of, and keep the ideas coming!**

**This chapter backs up a little bit, as I felt it was important to cover the last part of Chapter 11 from Felicity's perspective, so be prepared for that.**

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As far as Felicity was concerned, the entire night had been mess. She should never have left the office with Oliver, and she certainly shouldn't have indulged in all those strawberry daiquiris. Despite owning the pool game, she'd somehow still let Oliver get to her. She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, her hair down and wrapped in his shirt. How had she let this happen? Yes, Oliver had been looking at her all day like she was his dream goddess or something, but that didn't mean anything. Pre-island Oliver had a new goddess every week, didn't he? This was that guy, not her Oliver, right? Sometimes she wasn't sure. Alcohol or no alcohol, she had watched him turn on the guys that attacked them and take them out with barely a fight. For just a moment, she had believed that his memory had returned.

The night had been so much fun. When was the last time that she'd had that much fun with Oliver? She had told Diggle and Roy that she didn't want to burden Oliver by telling him about all of the misery he'd been lucky enough to forget. Did she really want him to remember on his own? She couldn't recall him ever looking at her like that before. Her fingers brushed over her lips, remembering the feel of him pressed against her. Her muddled brain wasn't ready to make decisions tonight, and she gave up for the moment.

She gathered her things in her arms and turned the door handle. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now, stuck here in Oliver's bedroom in his clothes. The door swung open, and she saw him. His head was in his hands as he sat in the arm chair, and he looked so defeated.

"Oliver, are you okay?" He raised his eyes and looked at her.

"I threw a knife into a guy an inch from your head and left the aftermath to some stranger in a leather hoodie. No, I'm not okay. How can you even ask me that? What's happened to me in the past seven years that it's even possible that I might be okay right now?" She couldn't stand seeing him look like this, so unlike the sure and serious Oliver he used to be or the carefree and fun Oliver that she'd been with recently. He looked afraid of himself.

"You wouldn't have hurt me, Oliver. I promise." She moved in front of him, willing him to believe her. "You would never hurt me, and you wouldn't let them hurt me." He wouldn't look at her, so she sank down in front of him, dropped the clothes from her arms onto the floor, and rested her palms on his knees. She could feel his warmth through the fabric, and she just wanted him to stop looking so lost.

"How can you possibly know that?" He seemed so far away, even as close together as they were. Felicity couldn't think of how to bring him back to her, until suddenly she knew. Quickly, before she could change her mind, she gave into an urge that she'd had and resisted a million times. She pushed up and closed the distance between them, kissing him. His lips were warm, and she felt his heat spread all over her. As she felt him respond, she slowly backed away, feeling every glide of his lips against hers before separating from him.

She lowered back to the floor, and Oliver moved to join her there. She was glad that he was back with her, but she wasn't ready to follow through with the promise of that kiss just yet. Felicity lifted her hand and pressed her palm against his chest.

"Oliver, we need to talk."

"No." He answered her. "I don't want to talk. I don't want to know anything else tonight. I just want to be here with you." He put his hand over hers and pressed it against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat. "Can you please let me do that, just tonight?" His eyes were looking at her imploringly, and Felicity had no will to resist. She knew that once he knew everything things would change.

"Oliver, we're not taking… this… any further tonight. I'm not going to lie, I've thought about it more than once over the past two years, but what happens when you become your old self again? What then?" Oliver started to shake his head, but Felicity wasn't having any of it. She wasn't even sure what she meant by "old self." If she gave into him now, and he woke up tomorrow and changed his mind because he remembered the past seven years of his life, would it be different than if he woke up and changed his mind because he was just unable to commit and wanted someone else? She didn't know, but she did know that either event would rip her heart out. She wasn't ready for the risk. "We don't have to talk tonight, but we're talking tomorrow."

Oliver stared at her for a minute, then nodded. He stood up and reached down for her hand. She placed her palm in his, letting him pull her up before he disappeared in his closet for a moment. Felicity looked around, unsure as to what she should be doing, and crossed her arms in front of her. Emerging a moment later, Oliver had a bundle of clothes in his arms.

"You stay in here, and I'll find another room." She started to protest, but Oliver was already opening the door. "I brought you home, and you're staying right here." He came up in front of her and covered her hand on her arm. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. Felicity stood her ground despite the temptation to lean in for more. "Good night Felicity," he said, moving to the doorway.

"Good night, Oliver."

…

Felicity stretched, reaching up above her head. She pulled down the blankets covering her, and it took her a moment to recognize where she was in the dark room. The blood rushed to her face as she realized that she was wearing Oliver Queen's shirt and waking up in his bed. It wasn't a situation she would have believed just a few hours before. She leaned over and grabbed her phone off of the end table. She had nearly a dozen missed calls and messages from Diggle and Roy, and she buried her face in the pillow, Oliver's pillow, as she realized she'd gone to sleep without ever checking in. It was super late or super early, depending on what way you wanted to look at, but that was prime time for Team Arrow.

She had told Oliver that they had to talk, but before they did she needed to meet with the guys and make a decision as a team. Letting Oliver in on his night time activities wasn't a call that she could make on her own, and she felt less qualified than ever to be weighing in. Felicity promised herself that she wasn't just stalling her conversation with Oliver. She rolled over and typed Diggle a text that she'd be there in a few, but before she hit 'send' she realized that she had no way to get to him. Felicity groaned out loud as she came to the understanding that Diggle was going to need to pick her up.

She bit the bullet and sent a message asking him for a ride, then rolled to step out of the bed. "Oh!" She gasped as she nearly landed on Oliver. Apparently he hadn't lasted in some other room, but was sleeping with a blanket on the floor. What could possess him to do that when they were in a mansion filled with bedrooms? She tiptoed around him and headed for the bathroom in the dark. She aimed to snatch her purse and dress off the floor on her way. As she knelt to pick them up, she couldn't help but remember when she had knelt in that spot just a couple of hours earlier. Her eyes shot to where Oliver slept on the floor, and she had to shake away the temptation to stay right where she was.

She stood and made it into the bathroom where she reluctantly she shook out her dress. There was no way that she was getting picked up from Oliver's house in the middle of the night wearing nothing but his shirt.

It was only about fifteen minutes later that Felicity cracked open the door to Oliver's room and peeked out. She glanced back to be sure that Oliver hadn't moved, then crept into the hall. She rushed through the house praying that anyone else home stayed asleep. Luck was on her side, and when she opened the front door she let out the breath she'd been holding. Diggle had the car parked in the driveway. She got in the car and avoided eye contact with Diggle.

"Do you want to tell me anything?" Diggle asked.

"No." She answered quickly. "Nothing. I mean, nothing happened, not that there's nothing to tell. But there isn't anything. We do need to talk, but not about last night. At least, not the last night that was after Roy appeared. Roy. I don't want to talk about what we're going to do until we're all together. Is Roy at the Foundry?" Diggle had listened patiently as she rambled on.

"Yes, he's there," was his only response.

"Good." Felicity nodded. "We'll talk then." Diggle just nodded.

It only took a few minutes to make it to the foundry in the Glades. They headed downstairs where Roy was sitting at a table sharpening arrows.

"Thanks for the help," Felicity said as they walked down the stairs into the lair.

Roy took a look at her dress, clearly the same that she'd been in hours ago. Pragmatically, he chose to ignore it. "Oliver completely had that under control. Did he remember anything else?" Roy was obviously eager to hear that Oliver might remember him, and Felicity hated to disappoint him.

"I don't think it was real memory so much as muscle memory. He freaked out about it once he got home." Felicity felt the looks that she was getting from both Roy and Diggle, and she wasn't willing to let them get the wrong impression. "Yes, I went back to his place. That's all. He went to sleep elsewhere and I left." Roy's eyes got wide, but he was smart enough to keep his questions and comments on the topic of Oliver as the Arrow, not Oliver and Felicity.

"Regardless, he showed he was completely capable. I saw him fight- he took those guys out without a struggle." Roy's enthusiasm was clear. "The city could use their Arrow back. I think we should tell him."

Felicity was still so unsure. She hadn't wanted to tell him because she had wanted him to have a chance to just be happy, but he wasn't happy. He knew he was missing something huge. She also knew that she wasn't going to be able to be around him and not tell him, so either she told him or she started looking for a new job. The idea of not seeing Oliver made it hard for her to breathe, but if it was what was best for him, she was ready.

"Diggle?" She looked at him. "What do you think?"

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice from the top of the stairs, "Anyone going to ask me what I think?" Her eyes flew up to see Oliver slowly walking down the steps, his expression grim. God, how long had he been there? What were they going to say?


	13. Chapter 13- Oliver's Opinion

**A/N Thank you so much for the reviews, as they really encourage me to stay with the story through the end! Reading your reactions to each chapter has been one of my favorite aspects of writing my first story continuing story, and I'm already looking for ideas for my next one!**

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Oliver looked around the room, trying to take it all in. He had woken up when Felicity was leaving, and he couldn't handle letting her disappear in the middle of the night. Not surprising, since he hadn't even been able to sleep with walls between them. He had checked on her three times within a couple of hours before giving up and sleeping on the floor so he could be positive she was fine.

He had followed Felicity on his bike when she left. Admittedly that was a bit stalker like, but she was with _his_ driver, after all. There had been something that she hadn't been telling him, and he was ready to find out what it was. He'd noticed his bike in the back of his garage the day before, but according to the hospital that was how he had wrecked. He wasn't even shocked when he was able to guess the code number within a couple of tries because this place felt like his. Oliver may have been an oblivious person, but he wasn't a total idiot. Something else was going on, and he was done being lied to about it.

Apparently this was it. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure what "this" was. Felicity was standing in the center of the room looking guilty while Diggle just leaned calmly against a table and looked resigned. The other guy, someone younger looking, had straightened up when he came in and stepped towards him expectantly.

Oliver slowly walked around the room, taking in the sight of the equipment and weapons, the computers and tech, and coming to a halt in front of the glass cases. One held the red leather jacket he'd seen on the man in the alley last night. The other held an outfit that was green.

"Who was outside the bar?" Was the first thing that he asked.

"I was." The young man answered. Oliver turned to look at him.

"And where is that guy now?" Even with all this craziness around him, Oliver would sleep better knowing their attacker wasn't running around the streets of Starling City.

"With the cops, recovering from a knife wound, and then he may have received a few more minor injuries," was the answer.

"Good. And you are?"

The young man took another step forward. "Roy. Roy Harper?" He looked so hopeful that Oliver felt guilty for not knowing him. He just shook his head, and Roy's face fell a little before he got control of his expression.

"Felicity?" He finally turned and looked at her. "Want to fill me in? I take it I spend some of my time here?" She shook her head, and he wasn't sure that she was going to answer him. She moved to sit at a chair in front of the computers, then ran her fingers across her keyboard, like it would tell her what to say.

"Oliver, I don't know where to start." She looked at him helplessly, then sent pleading looks to Diggle. The man started to speak, and Oliver cut him off. "No," he interrupted, sending Diggle a apologetic look. "I get it, we're obviously a lot closer than just employee, employer or whatever, but I don't know you at all." He turned back to look into Felicity's clear blue eyes. No matter what it was, he wanted to hear it all from her.

"Start with what this place is, then tell me what it is everybody here does." He hoped having specific questions might get her talking. Her eyes drifted away, and then returned to meet his. He held her gaze, wanting to be looking at her when he heard whatever was coming.

"A lot happened to you on that island, and according to you… none of it was good. When you came back to Starling City, you had a plan, a mission. You wanted to save this city from people that were hurting it." She paused, looking around the room. "You became the Arrow." His eyes shifted to the green costume in its glass case. "Yes, it's yours." Felicity answered his unspoken question. "You kind of gathered us along the way, and we work together now." She looked at everyone in the room. "We're a team."

Oliver didn't know what to think. He moved slowly to where there was a bow mounted in a case. He ran his fingers along it, then grasped it in his hand to pull it out. No memories of being the Arrow magically appeared in his head. He knew that's what the kid Roy was desperately hoping. He was already walking toward Oliver with a quiver of arrows. Memory or no memory, the bow in his hand felt instantly like an extension of himself. Whatever Felicity was saying had to be true, so he didn't doubt it. What he doubted was whether or not this was something that he should, or even could, be involved in.

Oliver waved away Roy's offer of the quiver; he didn't feel a need to test his archery skills at the moment. "Felicity, are you telling me that you fight crime? Do you have a costume, too?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

She blushed, then answered quickly. "No, I don't have costume. I work with computers, not bows and arrows. You wear one, Roy does, and I guess Sara does when she's here, but Diggle and I don't—" Oliver's heart nearly stopped when she mentioned Sara. Apparently it was obvious because Felicity stopped talking. "What? What did I say?" she asked rapidly, standing up. What she going to do, catch him if he fell?

"Sara? Sara Lance?" Oliver just looked at her. "They told me that I killed her…" his voice trailed away and he sat down in the seat that Diggle had pushed his way. "She's alive? She's okay?" He looked around the room for an answer. Felicity answered him.

"She's alive," she said reassuringly. "Okay's kind of a relative term, but she's kicking ass with the League of Assassins, so she's some form of okay. She comes around occasionally."

Oliver wasn't sure how to take it all in. So this is what he was doing with his life? He had known his office job wasn't occupying all his time, but fighting crime wasn't what he'd imagined he'd been up to. It did explain his miraculous knife throwing abilities and the instincts that had let him incapacitate the guys that attacked them last night.

There was a beeping from Felicity's computer, and she spun her chair around to look at the monitor. "There a robbery at the jewelry store on 23rd and Main. Security cameras are seeing…" she paused, typing rapidly into the computer. "It looks like four guys." She spun back around. "Roy, can you and Diggle handle this?"

Roy grabbed his gear and Diggle started moving. There seemed like a lot of motion, and Oliver just sat there watching. Suddenly, Roy paused. He turned and looked at Oliver. "Do you want to come?"

"No, he's not coming." Felicity interrupted, answering for him. Roy turned to look at her.

"He was fine last night. I think it should be his call." Felicity obviously didn't want him leaving, but Roy and Diggle looked at Oliver, waiting to see what he wanted to do. Oliver couldn't remember the last time people had looked to him to make a decision that actually mattered, even if it was about his own life. He stood. If these people believed that he was supposed to be out there, then maybe he was.

"I'm in. Let's go." Oliver was pleased that his voice sounded confident, as that didn't reflect at all how he was actually feeling. Roy grinned and angled his head towards the case filled with green leather before answering him-

"Suit up."


	14. Chapter 14- What's Oliver Going to Do?

**A/N For the record, this was my favorite chapter to put together. I loved thinking about what this Oliver would feel and say. I hope you like it!**

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"Roy can take the guys headed to the roof, and Digg, do you have the one than ran out the front entrance?" Felicity's voice rang through Oliver's ear.

"On it," he heard Diggle answer her. It was still strange running around in leather that fit like a second skin and listening to Felicity talk like she was inside of his head. Roy had made sure that he knew how to work the comm system before they'd left the car. It was reassuring that they were all in contact.

"The last guy is heading out the back; it looks like he's aiming for the alley." Felicity's voice sounded almost hesitant with that last bit of information, and he knew why.

"I'm headed that way," he answered her. To be honest, he was scared of what was about to go down, but if this was really his life he had to at least try. Oliver darted through the back of the store and burst through the exit door. The guy was right in front of him, just starting to race down the fire escape. They were only a level off of the ground, and Oliver had no hesitation to drop the few feet off the railing, skipping the unnecessary time on the stairs.

He already had an arrow nocked in his bow, and he lifted it to aim as his feet landed squarely on the ground. The man didn't stop running, and all Oliver could see was a giant target on his back. As the distance between them grew, Oliver realized that he couldn't loose the arrow. He imagined the sound of sinking into the man's flesh, tearing through him, and he just froze up. The moment went on, and a sense of panic began to set in. He knew it was his job to catch this guy and the thief was right in front of him. So what was stopping him?

There was a whooshing sound right next to him, and an arrow went winging past his head from behind, landing directly in the shoulder of the man running away.

"You all right?" Roy moved past him to go grab the man on the ground, and Oliver didn't know how to answer.

"Oliver?" He heard Felicity in his head. "What's going on? Are you okay? Would somebody tell me what's happening?" The concern in her voice was too much. It might all be too much. Oliver reached up and pulled the earpiece out of his ear and shoved it in a pocket before pressing the button on his chest to turn it off entirely.

Hearing the sirens in the distance, he turned and walked off in the opposite direction of Diggle and the waiting car. He may not have been sure where he was going, but he needed some space.

…

Oliver hadn't been sitting on the steps to her place for half an hour when Felicity got home. He was still in his Arrow gear and probably looked incredibly sketchy just planted outside her door like some green leather shrubbery, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"How did you find my place?" Felicity asked, not seeming at all surprised to see him.

"Believe it or not, I am able to do a bit of detective work of my own." She just tilted her head and gave him a disbelieving look, and he felt his lips quirk up. "Your address is saved in my phone. Do I not come here much?"

"Pretty much never," she answered, stepping past him to unlock the door. She moved inside, then left the door open behind her. She was carrying a small duffle bag, and she dropped it in the entryway. "I thought you might want to de-Arrow. That's your bag, so I'm pretty sure it has some clothes in it if you want to change."

He realized she'd known he was here. She turned to look at him as she gestured for him to come inside. "We all have GPS tracking on our phones. Sometimes people need directions, and sometimes…" she paused, as if choosing her words. "Sometimes people go missing and need to be found. It's not as stalkery as it sounds." How did she always know what he was going to ask? He didn't think she was stalking him; he was the one hovering on her doorstep, after all. What it did was remind him yet again how dangerous it was to spend their nights this way.

Oliver moved into the room behind her, already unzipping the leather jacket. He tossed it on the floor before kneeling down to open up the duffle bag and start rifling through it. It had a clean pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. As he grabbed them, he looked up and realized he could see Felicity's reflection in the window across the room. She was blatantly admiring the view his back presented. He broke into a full-fledged smile and stood up, turning to face her.

"Like what you see?" It was a cliché question, but he couldn't help it. Her face lit a bright red as she realized he had caught her looking.

"What, no! I mean, yes, I mean, I wasn't… I'm not even trying to finish this one." She turned away and started to move into the kitchen.

"Hey," Oliver said, his brow furrowing. He moved towards her quickly and took a light hold of her elbow, turning her to look at him. "You can look, or not, all you want. And if you can see past all these scars and tattoos I don't even understand, maybe I'll eventually forget they're there, too." He glanced down at the tattoo on his chest, and for a moment he honestly didn't even recognize his body as his own. Looking past his chest, he noticed that she was still in the yellow dress she'd been wearing at the bar. Her legs rose up out of her high heeled shoes and seemed to go on for miles before disappearing under the soft folds of her dress. "And, if it's okay with you, I'll admit I like what I'm seeing, too. We'll be even."

She smiled, and the moment was a peaceful one. For a few seconds, there was no confusing undercurrent anyone was trying to decipher. Oliver forced himself to let go of her elbow and step back before he started something that he couldn't stop.

"You want to sit down and tell me what went on tonight? Or, I guess you could say this morning." Her question reminded him of why he'd ended up at her place. He looked to the window and saw that the sun was just beginning to come up.

Oliver turned away from her to sit on her couch. He pulled the t-shirt on over his head as he moved. Relaxing into the cushions, he glanced around and realized that the place looked like her. It was filled with brightness and color. When his gaze returned to her, Oliver couldn't help but notice that her shine had dimmed just a bit. She had a tired edge, and he was forced to acknowledge that they'd both been out for hours.

"I do want to talk about tonight."

"Really?" She seemed surprised.

"Not something I say a lot?" He couldn't help but assume he didn't tend to be very sharing, since the idea of him wanting to discuss what had gone down after the robbery had surprised her more than his knifing the office walls or him haunting her front door. Felicity shrugged, confirming his thoughts. "But you look like you could take a break from the Oliver Queen rollercoaster. Maybe I should go."

"No!" She answered him quickly. "You look like you need a break, too. Just rest here for a while." She paused, and he wondered what she was thinking. "You ended up here for a reason. Just stay." He looked her over, trying to decide what was best.

"Okay, I'll stay." A look of relief came over her face, and he wished he knew why. "Go, get cleaned up and take a break. A nap, whatever. I'll be out here."

"Will you still be here when I come back?"

"That's a pretty hypocritical question, Felicity Smoak. Let's not forget that last time we said good night. I left you in my bed and ended up following you out of my house in the middle of the night." She had the grace to look a bit ashamed.

"But still…" she looked at him, waiting for his reassurance.

"I'm not going anywhere."

She only looked at him for a moment longer before turning and walking down the hallway. As she disappeared he rested his head on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. He didn't think that he would be able to really relax, not after the night he'd just had. It was kind of a full night, from watching Felicity beat him at pool to wearing a costume and fighting criminals. That pool game seemed so long ago.

Oliver thought about her, about how she'd looked at him with her guard up when he was flirting with her in the office. The judging disappointment she'd leveled at him when he was ready to leave Verdant with some stranger was burned into his head. He pictured her exasperated face as he blackmailed her to go to out with him, and he smiled as he remembered her expression when he cheated so she wouldn't win that game of pool.

It was so different from the calm strength he'd drawn on when he was panicking in his office over a broken vase, or the complete trust she'd given him after they'd been attacked. He could hear her concern for him radiating through the communication device the team had given him and see the look of complete understanding when she came home to find him on her doorstep. He remembered the tears she was trying not to shed when he first laid eyes on her at the hospital.

This woman, even though he could only remember a short time with her, had come to be the center of his existence. Every important moment since he'd woken up had been defined by her. He heard a door open in the back, and he sat up to see Felicity walk back into the living room wearing shorts and his t-shirt. Oliver wasn't sure he was comfortable with letting someone have that much importance to him, but that didn't mean he could change it. So what was he going to do about it?


	15. Chapter 15- The Morning

**A/N Thanks so much for all of the amazing feedback! Reading responses has become one of my favorite things about sharing this story, so please let me know you think of the chapter. This chapter was one I enjoyed writing, so I hope you like reading it!**

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Felicity paused in the entryway and thought about the difference in last night and this morning. When she'd walked out of the bathroom last night, Oliver had looked so lost. Now, even with bailing after the Arrow mission, he merely seemed contemplative. She thought it was a definite improvement.

She moved into the room and sank down onto the cushion beside him. She tucked her bare legs up underneath her and just waited. After he'd walked away from Roy and Diggle and turned off his comm, she'd had a momentary panic. She couldn't track his GPS fast enough. She'd watched as he'd wandered around in circles for a little while, so she'd been vaguely surprised when he'd changed course and clearly headed to her side of town. When the tracker had stopped at her own address, she'd shut down everything at the foundry and headed for home. She had remembered to message Diggle so that the guys wouldn't worry, as she was still feeling guilty she'd missed so many texts and calls early on during the night.

A silence sat between them, but it was one of comfort, not tension or anxiety. Felicity couldn't think of any other deep dark secret she was hiding, and she was glad everything was out in the open between them. She wasn't past the irony that she was the one considering dark secrets, not Oliver. She was so used to it being the other way around.

His head dropped back into the cushions. "I completely froze out there tonight."

"I know," she answered him. She was careful of her tone, wanting him to know she wasn't judging his actions.

"I don't know why. Last night I didn't seem to have any trouble taking a guy out with a knife blade." She turned her head to look at him.

"You know that was different," she answered. "He was threatening us, not running away. And it isn't like the event didn't get to you, it just hit you after."

"The bow felt like it was a part of me as soon as I picked it up." Oliver leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. "I know that I wouldn't have missed if I'd taken the shot, but I couldn't take it." He turned to meet her eyes, and his look was open and sincere. "I'm not him, Felicity, not really. I may be able to fight like a ninja or out-shoot Robin Hood, but I don't know what it means to stab someone. I don't know what kind of damage it's going to do to somebody when they have an arrow fly through them." He sat up and his fingers grazed a spot on his chest. "Or a bullet." His hand dropped back down. "I don't know what it's like to hurt someone, and I don't know that I want to know. I do want to help. I want to help the city, and I want to help you and this team. That kid, Roy? He looked at me in a way no one ever has before, and I don't..." his voice trailed away, as though he couldn't find the words.

"Like he admired you? Respected you? Trusted you?" Felicity filled in the words that he wasn't willing to say. "We all do, you know." His head started shake, not accepting what she was saying.

"I haven't done any of the things that earned that trust or that admiration. I don't deserve it."

"Just because you don't remember it doesn't mean that it didn't happen." Felicity sat up, wanting him to understand. "You _saved_ Roy, in more ways than one. You've saved so many lives in this city. People are alive, people like me, who would be dead, all because of you. That fact doesn't change, whether or not you remember."

"What if I can't do it anymore?" He wasn't whispering, or panicking. Oliver's tone was serious and practical, but he wasn't meeting her eyes.

"First you decide what you want. If you want to live a normal life, then that's what you do. If you want to fight the bad guys at night, then we'll figure out what you need to make it work." Felicity's matched her tone to his, wanting to keep her own emotions out of his decision.

"I'm not saying I would, but if I choose to be normal, to become CEO Oliver Queen full time, I know it would change things for a lot of people. I get that Roy wouldn't look at me in the same way, but his respect isn't something I'm attached to having." He paused, and Felicity felt something shift between them. At first it was just a feeling, but then he closed the distance between them to run his fingers along her forearm. He reached her hand, turned it over from where it rested in her lap, and laced his fingers through it. Felicity tried to catch her breath, and she was so focused on how his hand looked entwined with hers that she almost didn't hear his next question. "Will it change how _you_ see me?" She moved her eyes to his, but Oliver didn't bring up his gaze from where he was staring at their joined hands. She wondered if the sight impacted him as much as it did her.

"Oliver," Felicity spoke softly. "You can be the Arrow, a CEO, or a bagboy. You need to do what feels right to you. If you would be happy in the Executive Office of Queen Consolidated, do it. You've had years of hell and sacrifice, and no one deserves a shot at happiness like you do." He looked up, and she hoped that he could read the sincerity in her eyes.

He lifted the back of her hand to his lips, and she could feel the touch of his kiss all through her. Felicity's eyes fell closed. She was almost afraid to breathe, as though it would break the moment. He leaned over, brushing his lips softly against the skin on the side of her neck. She tilted her head back, and he took it as an invitation. His lips trailed up her neck until he brought his mouth to hers, and she pressed her lips against his. It was a slow, gentle kiss. She had always known his strength, and she couldn't have imagined how soft and warm his lips could feel against hers. She felt his hand move to cup her cheek, and she couldn't help but want to feel him all over.

Her lips opened up under his, and Oliver didn't hesitate to accept her offer. As she felt his mouth become more demanding, she moved one hand to thread through Oliver's hair while the other reached around him to clutch at the fabric of his shirt. She turned her upper body so that she could lean into him, and she felt his free arm move around her back. There was a short moment of desperation on his part as his hand shoved up the back of her shirt, but the minute his fingers made contact with the skin on the small of her back, it was like he'd found what he was looking for.

His heat was surrounding her, but it wasn't enough. Without taking her mouth from his, she shifted on the couch. She leaned back, pulling Oliver with her. He followed without hesitation, and she loved feeling the weight of him above her.

She'd wanted him for ages, and it was as though every moment of desire she'd felt before was coursing through her right then. The miracle of it was that she was able to have what she wanted, and it was clear that he wanted it too. Oliver was right there with her, and there were no secrets holding either of them back. It was true that he may decide to break her heart tomorrow, but for today, as the morning sun crept its way into her living room, Felicity Smoak wasn't going to lose this moment.

…

It was hours later when Oliver woke up. He was lying on his back on the couch, with one foot propped up on the arm of the sofa and the other lazily falling off into the floor. Felicity was sprawled on top of him, with her head resting on his chest and her golden hair spread everywhere. There was a throw strewn across the two of them, clearly an afterthought, and his hand was resting on her back. He softly began to stroke his thumb back and forth across the smooth skin of her bare shoulder.

As he stared at the ceiling, recalling each second of that morning, he came to a realization. His morning with Felicity wasn't the only thing that he was remembering.


	16. Chapter 16- Decisions, or Lack Thereof

**A/N I apologize for the extreme hiatus in publishing. Life got it the way, as it occasionally does. Even after I had the opportunity to pick the writing back up, I struggled to blend the Oliver we knew from before with the Oliver that's been developing for the last 15 chapters. I finally found the voice I needed, so I'm glad to be returning to the story!**

**I had been able to publish almost daily when I first began, and I promise that I'm planning to return to that pace for the remainder of the story. Thanks for the encouragement!**

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Oliver felt her begin to move as his fingertips drifted over her back and into her hair. He was trying so hard not to think about anything other than the texture of those strands of gold as they ran through his fingers. While other memories were fighting each other for space in his head, the one he was making at the present was the only one he cared about. Everything else could wait.

He heard her soft sigh, and Oliver knew his moment was coming to a close. While his whole history was suddenly in his memory again as though it had never left, the past weeks were tumbling together. He remembered exactly how Felicity had been left to fend for herself at the office, let herself have a night out with him, and then taken care of him. It had been clear from the first moment that he'd met her that she was amazing, but it wasn't until he'd shed his past that he was able to clearly see that she was a miracle. There was no question in his mind who she was, but who _he_ was supposed to be now was foggy.

Felicity lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest. Her drowsy eyes met his, and Oliver felt like he could drown in them. He'd be content if he never had to move, but that wasn't going to be an option. What was he supposed to say to her? Last night she'd told him the only thing he needed to do was decide was what he wanted, and then they would make it happen. He knew that was still the truth, but he couldn't figure out for himself what he wanted. Only a few minutes had passed since he'd woken, and everything was about to shift, yet again.

"So," Felicity spoke with hesitation, "I need caffeine." She stretched her arm out to the floor as she spoke, grabbing hold of his t-shirt. She pulled the blanket up over her head and spent a minute being adorable as she fumbled to cover up. He couldn't help but smile watching her act so shy, as though they hadn't spent the night kissing and touching every bare inch of skin they could find. He couldn't fathom the kind of amnesia it would take to wipe out that memory.

She finally slid off of him to stand on the floor, and Oliver resisted the urge to grab her and pull her back to him. Until he was confident in what he needed to do, being with her again wasn't fair. As she moved further away from him into the kitchen, the gap expanding between them wasn't only physical. Did he tell her now? Was it lying not to? It wouldn't be the first time he'd kept the truth from her, but this was different. This wasn't about the island or things that had happened before she met him, it was about them right now.

"Coffee?" Felicity's voice startled him as she returned to the couch, and he sat up to make room for her. He dragged the throw across his lap, drawing her eyes and making her blush again. His lips quirked up; he'd always loved it when she blushed, and it was much more fun giving her an actual reason for it. As she sat down, reached across the small space between them and handed him a mug.

"You actually brought me coffee?" Oliver's surprise was clear in his tone, and Felicity's eyes moved to his, searching.

"Why wouldn't I?" At her question, he realized his mistake. New Oliver probably didn't have any reason to be surprised at coffee delivered by his assistant/vigilante partner. He just shrugged, and after focusing on him for another moment, Felicity must have been satisfied. She leaned back on the sofa cushions and gazed out the window across the room, taking in the late afternoon sun. "I don't guess you've made any decisions since this morning?"

While he knew that she was talking about the decision of whether or not he wanted to keep his Arrow alter ego, that was no longer an issue. It was hard to reconcile the person he'd been the last few weeks, innocent of the darkness filling the city, with who he had been before. Or who he was now, whoever that was. It was true that being free of the responsibility of saving the city had given him a few moments joy that he would never have let himself have, otherwise.

Looking back, it had been wonderful not to listen to reports of crime every night and wonder what he could be doing to stop it. Would he have been able to enjoy his pool game with Felicity in the same way if he'd known how many dangers threatened those around them? It was confusing, but he knew that going back to that carefree life was impossible. He couldn't become unaware of the corruption and dangers lurking in Starling, therefore _not_ being the Arrow was not an option. What he was going to do about his relationship with Felicity was the decision he wasn't sure he could face.

"Not just yet," he finally answered her. Luckily, she expected him to be thinking and weighing his choices right now, so his behavior didn't raise her suspicions. He tried to remind himself why he'd been resisting the urge give in to his attraction to her prior to his memory loss, and it didn't take long. All of Oliver's misgivings came rushing back in full force. He was a mess, and no matter how much he cared about her, being with her was sure to do nothing but hurt her. The carefully maintained persona of playboy Oliver Queen was not going to be seriously committed to his secretary, and the night time activities of the Arrow would bring her nothing but danger. Heartbreak and danger were the only things he could see himself giving her, and Felicity deserved so much more than that.

And would she even want him? He'd been teased by both Felicity and Diggle for having so many dark, hidden secrets. The new, or old, or whatever version of Oliver, the one she'd chosen to be with, was fresh. He hadn't come with the baggage of a seriously questionable past. He may not have been the best son, brother, or boyfriend, but he had been innocent enough to want to avoid hurting other people. Isn't that a trait that was better suited to Felicity than a trained fighter and killer? He could feel the weight of his concerns pressing down on him.

Taking a large swig of the coffee to try and steal his nerves, he glanced down and saw her hand resting on the cushion beside him. The image of their hands tangled together filled his mind, and he couldn't stop himself as he reached over and laced the fingers of his free hand with hers. The second his skin made contact, it was as though the air in the room was lighter. Everything just seemed a bit better. Oliver was aware that he should give her space, but it would take more strength than he had to let go of her. He set his mug on an end table, and turned so that he was looking at her, trying to choose his words with care.

"Felicity," he began.

"Wait!" Her interruption was unexpected, and it stopped him short. She was facing him, but her eyes were looking slightly away from him, as though she was avoiding the contact. "I know what you're going to say!" Oliver's brow furrowed, wondering if he could have given himself away, as she hurried on. "I don't want you to think that I expect anything of you. Last night wasn't that big of a deal," she continued. "We barely know each other, at least, you barely know me, and like I said, I don't have any expectations or anything. I just wanted you to know that I get it. I admit that we have, I mean we had a strong attraction last night and everything, but I don't want you to think that I'm going to turn into that type of girl that gets all clingy and starts hearing wedding bells. I mean, not that wedding bells even crossed my mind. Ever. Well, I'm not against marriage on principle, so I guess it has crossed my mind-"

Oliver abruptly closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers, cutting her off. It was a temptation he'd been resisting every time had she rambled for the past year. As she'd lost her original point and the familiar desire to feel her lips on his rose, it had occurred to him that, for the moment, he had every right to give in. For the first time, he was allowed to act on the impulse.

At the first split second of contact, she froze against him, but that was no deterrent. His hand rose to cup her cheek, and he coaxed her head to a slight angle to deepen the kiss. He could feel the moment that she thawed and relaxed into him. Her lips softened against his, and Oliver couldn't believe how she felt against him, like sunshine. She felt like she was glowing from the inside. Her kiss had been amazing the times before; their chemistry had never been in question, but this time was different. This time he was himself, and he knew exactly who she was.

His languid kiss slowly began to evolve into something more, and after a few minutes he realized that if they kept it up he wouldn't be able to stop. He slowly pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. Their breath mingled between them, and he knew that he wasn't ready to let her go. When she'd first mentioned that last night's event didn't have to mean anything, he'd wondered for an instant if that would be better. It would let them both off of the hook, and while he knew it would hurt her, it would probably save her a lot more pain in the future. No matter what else happened, all Oliver wanted was whatever would be the best for Felicity, but it had only taken a second of contemplation before he knew he couldn't just go along with her on this. He wasn't sure he wanted to be let off the hook. He moved a few inches back from her, and reached to pick up her glasses from the table behind him. He carefully slid them into place, and she smiled gently at him.

"It was a big deal." He punctuated the statement with a chaste kiss on her lips, before dragging himself up off of the couch, pulling the blanket around his waist as he moved. He wasn't willing to let her imagine for another minute that the night hadn't meant anything, and to be honest he couldn't believe that the idea had crossed his mind. "I expect things. I want you to expect things." He blurted out the statement without thinking, realizing afterwards that his real problem was whether or not he would be able to meet those expectations.

As he saw the hope spring into her eyes, he felt a moment of panic. Oliver knew he wasn't in any condition to make any decisions, and his sudden all consuming goal was to get out of there before he messed anything up permanently. He reached for his clothes, gathering them up. "Let me get dressed and then I need to go check up on Thea. She's probably worried since I haven't been home since yesterday." There was movement from Felicity on the couch behind him, but he didn't turn around. He avoided making eye contact, not wanting to see that look of hope that he wasn't sure he would be able to live up to. He escaped into the bathroom, knowing he was bailing on her, but he needed a minute.


	17. Chapter 17- Oliver's Retreat

**A/N Thanks for sticking with me on this story, and thanks so much for the encouraging feedback! I think we're reaching an ending within the next 2-3 chapters, so I appreciate the support throughout the writing. I'm already considering what I'd like to write about next, so if you have any prompt suggestions, feel free to PM me or leave them in a review. I have a one-shot collection I occasionally add to, but I've really enjoyed working on this longer story. Part of that enjoyment comes from sharing it with you, so I hope you enjoy this chapter and the upcoming ones as much as I do!**

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Felicity watched him retreat into the bathroom and wondered when he would realize that she was still in his shirt. If his plan was to get dressed, then he was going to struggle. She also wondered how long he would believe that she didn't know his memories were back.

She hadn't known immediately, and even his look when she handed him coffee hadn't been his major tell. It had become as clear as day the moment that his lips met hers. There was something different now than earlier. Both were passionate and intense, and he had been fully present with her both times, but it was as though the source of Oliver's desperation was a tangible thing. Before he had seemed lost and he needed her to ground him. Now he looked at her like he needed her to save him.

Of course, the first thing that Oliver does is keep a secret from her. It's just like old times, she thought, as she leaned back into the couch cushions. Moving to cross her legs beneath her on the sofa, she remembered that she was sitting in her living room in Oliver's shirt after spending the night with him. So maybe not everything was like old times.

Reaching for her phone, she called him a cab. No way was Diggle picking Oliver up on her front steps. He seemed ready to bolt, and she wasn't ready to keep him here. As she listened to the water running in the bathroom, Felicity sipped on her coffee and thought about what she wanted. Last night, in fact all of her nights lately, had been entirely about what Oliver needed and what Oliver wanted. With his memories back, they were back to equal footing as far as she was concerned. She knew that she probably should be contemplating what was running through Oliver's head, but for this moment it didn't matter. Like she had told Oliver the night before, the first thing was to decide what she wanted, and the next was to make it happen.

The faucet shut off, and she waited for him to emerge. Until she made her decision for herself, she wasn't prepared to rush Oliver into any declarations. If he wanted to tell her about his memories returning, then he would. The handle on the bathroom turned, and as he came into sight she drank in the view of Oliver standing in the doorway.

She fought to drag her eyes up from where his sweatpants slung low on his hips. He'd given her permission earlier to look her fill, and she couldn't resist taking him up on the offer. She managed to move her gaze upward, and the gorgeous expanse of skin across his abdomen and chest was as overwhelming now as it had ever been. Now she knew exactly what that skin felt like under her fingertips, and he was even more tempting than before.

It was a struggle, but Felicity finally managed to bring her gaze up to his face. She couldn't help but blush as she noticed the quirk of his mouth and his raised eyebrow, even if he'd encouraged her to look. He may have his memories back, but his expression made it obvious he didn't mind her attention. There was a comfortable moment of silence between them, and then he seemed to remember that he wasn't planning on staying.

"I really do need to, um, check on Thea." His uncertainty was written all over him.

"Okay," she answered him calmly. That was her only response. Felicity was determined that for once she wasn't going to be the one rambling on. She was going to decide what she wanted for herself, but he had real choices to make here as well. If he wanted to maintain his charade for now, she would let him.

He moved across the room and dug into his bag, coming out of it with another t-shirt. She was glad he had one because she hadn't been looking forward to returning the one she was wearing. It almost felt like his arms were around her, and she didn't know if or when that would happen again.

Oliver pulled the shirt over his head and shoved on his shoes. It seemed like only seconds before he was standing at her front door with his bag on his shoulder.

"I called you a cab, and he'll be here any second." Felicity informed him as she stood up. Even as she spoke, she heard the sound of a car pulling up.

"Great." Oliver didn't move to leave immediately. "I'll call you," he said as he opened the door. Felicity heard the cliché statement and couldn't believe that this was how her time with Oliver was going to end. She didn't know exactly what she'd expected, but this wasn't it. When he had one foot out the door, he stopped moving. He turned back into the room abruptly, and strode across the floor until he was standing in front of her. She caught her breath as his palms came up to cup her cheeks. She lifted a hand and placed it over one of his, feeling him against her.

"I won't call you," he said softly.

"You won't?" Felicity brow furrowed, as she swiftly became confused.

"I'll see you," he said, "Tonight. I'll meet you below the club." With that surprising statement, Oliver pressed his lips to her forehead and pulled away. He walked out the front door and left Felicity standing alone in her living room.

As the door latched shut behind him, Felicity looked down to see his shirt still surrounding her. It reminded her that she hadn't dreamt the entire thing. His actions proved that memory or no memory, he wasn't going to pretend that they hadn't slept together, and she was glad of that. As much as she had been ready earlier to try and convince him that she could be casual, she knew that there was nothing casual in how she felt about Oliver Queen. It was also clear, no matter how he'd felt in the past, that he wasn't feeling very casual either.

He had told her that he wanted her to expect things. Before he'd lost his memories, she'd never felt that he would be ready for a romantic relationship. Was he ready for it now? Was she? Oliver was already the center of her world; a fact that was clearly proven during this whole amnesia debacle. Would she be able to handle it if something happened to him that took him away from her permanently?

Felicity sank back down on her couch once again, needing to think through the possibilities. By the time she next saw Oliver, she was determined that she would know what she wanted from him.


	18. Chapter 18- What Felicity Wants

**A/N Thank you so much for the feedback &amp; encouragement! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the reviews- please let me know what you think!**

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She hadn't been lying to herself that afternoon, and it hadn't taken Felicity long to figure out what she wanted. She wanted Oliver.

Nothing coming up was going to be easy. First, she had to convince the man himself, and Oliver held a gold-record in creating barriers. She seriously doubted that they were just going to share a hallmark moment and then live happily ever after. Even if he didn't fight her about giving them a try, he was going to have to give up the reins a little bit. He'd asked for expectations, and she was prepared to bring some to the table.

Before his memory loss, Oliver was their undisputed leader. Felicity had always held sway, and she knew it, but Oliver was in charge. When Oliver had lost his identity as the Arrow and reverted to his playboy ways, Felicity had moved into the controlling member of their relationship. With the return of his memories, the playing field had leveled. Felicity wasn't willing to let Oliver go back to being the decision maker- they were coming into this as equals.

As she entered the Arrow Cave, she knew from Diggle's texts that Oliver was already down there. Diggle had spent the evening with him before heading home to Lyla. Oliver hadn't filled Diggle in on his newly returned memories, so she figured he was planning on keeping that to himself for a while. Her heels clicked confidently down the stairs, and Felicity was sure of what she was going after. Unwilling to defer to him, she was going to make him admit that they could make it work, even if she had to drag him to that conclusion kicking and screaming.

When she made it to the bottom of the steps, Oliver looked up from where he had been sitting and sharpening arrows. As soon as his eyes locked onto hers, Felicity was sure she was making the right decision. Also, she was sure that this was an Oliver she could handle.

She walked straight over to him, leaned down, and planted a kiss squarely on his mouth. The heat between them rose up instantly, but before he had time to react, she pulled back just an inch.

"Hi," she murmured softly. Felicity maintained her minuscule distance, her lips just out of reach, until she felt him start to move in. The second she felt him shift, she swiftly stood up and moved to her desk. "Any news we need to look into?" The energy charge between them was ridiculous, and if he'd gotten a hold of her, chances are she would never have been able to let go. She did her best to play it cool, and she nonchalantly pulled up her usual sources for news on Starling City bad guys. She could feel his eyes boring into the back of her head.

She swiveled her chair around, and his expression was exactly as she'd expected- surprise with just a hint of panic. Oliver may not be ready for a huge helping of domesticity, but that was exactly what she was planning on serving him.

"Did you check in with Thea?" She asked. "I hope she wasn't too worried about you."

It was telling just how much she'd thrown him off by long he took to respond. "Um, she was fine. I just told her I had a long night out." Oliver broke eye contact, and looked around the room as though he needed a distraction. He stood up and moved to look at the Arrow gear, which he'd returned to its case. Felicity, unwilling to let him put up a wall between them, stood as well and came up behind him. He stiffened as she wove her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. She turned and rested her head against his back, and she felt the tension in the muscles under her cheek. Relieved that he didn't push her away, and she reveled in the warmth radiating through the soft cotton of his t-shirt.

He didn't react for long seconds, holding himself rigid. It felt like a lot of time passed, although in reality it was probably only a minute, before he slowly relaxed under her touch. He brought his arm up to rest his hand over hers where it was wrapped around his waist. Felicity felt a rush of joy that he was letting her in. She felt the touch of his fingers as they moved, brushing back and forth across the back of her hand. She knew they were on a path of baby steps, but she was thrilled to take one.

"Are you thinking you want to suit up tonight? We could call Roy to come in and go with you." She made the offer sincerely, letting him decide whether or not he was going to admit to being capable of going out on his own. Oliver was shaking his head almost before she'd finished the words.

"No." He carefully pulled away from her, and at first she thought he was going to put space between them, but instead he turned so that he was facing her. One arm moved around her waist to pull her more firmly against him, and the other cupped her cheek.

His lips met hers, slowly this time, and her eyes drifted closed. At first his lips just grazed hers softly. After the warmth had time to spread throughout her, the tip of his tongue brushed softly across her lower lip. She opened up for him, and then she let herself get lost in the heat. It felt as though a fire was slowly growing under her skin. After much too short a time, he gradually pulled back. She opened her eyes and was surprised at his expression. Oliver was gazing at her without a hint of fear in his eyes, and a smile quirked on his lips.

"Your hello earlier left something to be desired," he said dryly. Felicity's eyes widened at the fact he was teasing her, and she was thrilled that he didn't seem to be getting ready to run. Maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as she'd expected. She wove her fingers through his hair, raised up on her toes, and prepared to bring his lips back down to hers when she heard the alarm sound on her computer.

She closed her eyes with sigh, dropped her feet back to the floor and her let forehead press against his chest. Oliver's arms tightened around her for a moment, before falling gently away from her.

"Duty calls," she murmured. For a moment, Felicity wished that she'd persuaded him to meet her somewhere that they wouldn't be interrupted, but then she realized that this disruption could actually help prove her point early. They could be together and protect the people of Starling City at the same time. Granted, soon they were going to have to talk about this situation, not just ignore it and enjoy each other. But they weren't at that moment yet, thank goodness.

Before she made it back to her computer, both her phone and Oliver's started going off. He picked his up as she started reading the notifications running across her monitor.

"Oliver, there's been a break in at your house," Felicity immediately sent out a call to Diggle and to Roy. There was a clatter as Oliver slammed his phone down.

"Thea's not answering," she hear him growl. She spun around in her chair to see Oliver grabbing his jacket and heading for the stairs. His bow was already in his hand. "Wait!" Felicity didn't care what he did or did not remember, she didn't want to see him rushing off into a situation without knowing what was waiting for him.

"I can't," he called back over his shoulder. "Something could've happened to Thea. Call Roy and have him meet me at my place, and call Diggle and ask him to come here." His voice was one hundred percent commander, a tone she hadn't heard in ages.

"They're already on their way to your place- why would Diggle need to come here?" Oliver paused on his way up the stairs and turned back to her.

"Please, I just need him to be here." The look in his eyes was intense, and Felicity wasn't prepared to waste time making him explain.

"Okay, fine, but just-" She jumped up and dashed across the foundry floor. When she reached the stairwell she grasped his wrist where he was holding the railing. "Just stay safe." He nodded, and then he was gone.

She knew that Oliver would forever be running out her life to save the day; that wasn't new. It had been harder this time than it used to be, but he was taking a larger piece of her with him, now.

Even as she pondered the thought, she heard a loud crashing sound coming from the back corner. She whirled around as the lights went out and darkness surrounded her.


	19. Chapter 19- Missing

**A/N Thanks again for the reviews! They are such wonderful encouragement, and I can't tell you how much I look forward to them. I'm thinking that we're coming closer to the end of this story (probably only one more chapter), so also let me know if you have any ideas for prompts- I'm looking for my next inspiration.**

**I wanted to get this one out because I'm excited about these last couple chapters, so I didn't spend as much time editing as usual. Please forgive any errors!**

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Oliver tore into his driveway and saw the front doors wide open. From outside he couldn't see any lights on in the house, and he didn't slow down as he ran inside. He hadn't bothered with his Arrow outfit, as he had been holding out hope that he wasn't going to find anything wrong and Thea was just sleeping through his calls.

That hope was fading as he entered the front hall.

"Thea! Are you here?" He was aware that stealth probably would have been a good plan, but he didn't care. Finding his sister was his largest concern. "Thea?" He yelled again as he ran up the stairs towards her room. Oliver burst through her door, and there was no sign of her.

He ran back down the stairs to start searching through the house and heard a sound in the living room. He raised the bow he'd been carrying, taking careful aim. It could just be Thea, but he had to be ready. As he crept to the doorway, he heard clear footsteps coming his direction.

"Oliver!" Roy emerged from the room, and threw his hands in the air. "Just me!" He was also in his street clothes, and Oliver lowered his bow. "I haven't seen her." Roy's concern was palpable, but he was still looking at Oliver in a hesitant way.

"What?" Oliver's brow furrowed, trying to figure out what Roy was keeping from him.

Roy shook his head before answering, "If we run into Thea, I feel like you should know that she and I used to be… together." Roy was staring at the bow as if waiting for Oliver to put an arrow through him.

For a few minutes Oliver had completely forgotten that he was supposed to have amnesia, but he figured now was not the time to have a heartfelt reunion scene.

"Right, okay." He responded to Roy. The guy looked surprised for a second, then his face filled with concern.

"No sign of Thea at all?"

Oliver started to shake his head when his phone started vibrating. He yanked it from his pocket and felt a wave of relief as he saw Thea's picture on the front.

"Thea? Are you okay?" His concern was evident in his voice, but he tried to stave off the panic.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm out with friends and didn't hear my phone over the music. Are you all right? What's going on?"

Oliver sat down on the arm of a sofa as he calmed down. He rubbed his forehead, trying to release some of the pressure that had been building up. "Nothing, there was just an alarm at the house. When I couldn't find you I got worried."

"Well, I'm fine. You might want to call the security company. We've never changed it, so you should be able to handle it." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I seem to remember you setting it off a few times when I was a kid."

"Okay, I'm just glad you're all right. I'll take care of it." As he hung up the phone, Oliver raised his eyes to Roy. "Have you checked the whole house? The door was open when I got here. It didn't open itself." He stood purposefully and went to inspect the door.

"I've looked over this floor, but I haven't been through the upstairs." Roy watched him as he knelt in front of the door handle.

"This door was forced open, but I don't see signs of anyone else coming in." He stood back and turned to Roy. "I'm going back to the foundry. Felicity can probably check the cameras and see what went down. Will you do a sweep of the upper floor and then meet me back there?"

Roy cocked his head, obviously noticing a change in his demeanor from the robbery last night. "Oliver, are you…" his voice trailed off, unsure if he wanted to ask if the Arrow was really back.

Oliver was more concerned with who was breaking into his home, and he hadn't decided what to tell Felicity, so he decided to put a stop to that line of questioning. "Let me know if you find anything. Felicity can help me, so I'm heading back there." On that parting note, he headed back outside.

…

It took a less time than usual to get back to the Arrow cave. Oliver hadn't been comfortable leaving Felicity alone when someone might be threatening his home, which is why he asked her to have Diggle come to her. Someone willing to attack his house could easily have gone after Verdant. He wasn't going to be happy until he was back with her. He was willing to admit that it was a distraction, but at the moment he didn't see any alternatives.

When she'd walked in tonight she had acted like he was hers. Hers to touch, hers to kiss, hers to love. He hadn't been sure what he was going to say to her before that. Oliver was still scared to death that he was going to hurt her, or that being with him was going to get her hurt. He'd been ready to pull back and try to do the right thing, but then when he'd laid eyes on her he knew that wasn't going to work. She'd been dressed in a short, hot pink dress that set off her lipstick, and she was the brightest, most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He couldn't resist her, and she hadn't given him the chance. She'd just walked in and acted like she owned him. Of course, she had owned him for a while now, but he supposed she had just found it out.

As he walked through the club, he couldn't wait to get his hands back on her. Her kisses from earlier were burned into his memory, and he was thinking he was due for another. He had been able to resist before, but now he was fully aware of what he was missing.

When he reached the door to downstairs he went cold. For the second time today he saw that the door to his home had been left open.

Unlike his house, here there were lights on below. Oliver held his bow at the ready and softly moved down the stairs. It only took a second to spot Diggle standing in the center of the room, looking at something in his hand. He brought up his gaze when Oliver came in, and it was written on his face.

"Where is she?" he breathed. Oliver lowered his bow, needing to hear the answer out loud.

"Someone took her." Diggle was obviously trying to maintain his calm, and Oliver could tell from his voice that he was in pure soldier mode. "There was a small struggle; the chair was knocked over and some other things." He looked down at his hand again. "She dropped her phone." Oliver knew she always held a death grip on that thing, so the fact that she'd dropped it meant she'd definitely fought back.

"Do we know anything yet? Who or where?" Diggle just shook his head as his voice grew louder. "How can this have happened?" Oliver slammed his bow on the desk and ran his fingers over her keyboard. "I haven't even been out there lately. There isn't anyone. There isn't…" his voice trailed away as Roy ran down the steps.

"We're going to find her. I know you don't remember the past few years, but we're good at this, and Felicity is a lot tougher than she looks." Oliver's eyes shifted to meet his.

"I remember, and I know that part of the reason we're good at this is that Felicity is here." Diggle's brow furrowed as he looked at him, and Roy's eyes got wide.

"How long have your memories been back?" Roy asked, taking a step closer.

"Since earlier today," was Oliver's reply. "Now, we have to get Felicity back. Now. Any suggestions?"

Roy moved to the computer. "I'll start running facial recognition software through the traffic camera footage and see if that'll give us a lead."

Diggle pulled his phone from his pocket. "I'll call Lyla and see if Argus has any ideas of threats that have been active in our area." Oliver nodded at them both, trying to figure out what he should be doing, when his phone started to vibrate.

He ripped it out of his jacket and answered the number he didn't recognize.

"Oliver," her voice whispered, and he felt his knees grow weak as he turned it to speaker phone.

"Are you okay? Where are you?" He gripped his cell like it was a lifeline.

"I'm okay for now. I'm at some kind of storage unit place. We drove for about fifteen minutes, but I'm not sure in which direction." Oliver was already on the move to suit up, and Roy was searching for nearby storage facilities. "It was dark and I'm don't know much-" Her voice trailed off, and Oliver strove to stay focused. She needed him to keep his head in the game.

"There's a place about fifteen minutes south of here, if you move in a hurry you can make it ten." Armed with Roy's intel, Oliver switched his phone line to feed through the comm. device and headed towards the door.

"Roy, Digg, meet me there." His voice called back to them on his way out. "Felicity, I'm on the way. Just hold on." When he didn't hear an answer, he called out again. "Felicity?" As the line clicked dead, Oliver started running.


	20. Chapter 20- Found, A Finale

Oliver stood on a roof in the storage facility, fully suited up and armed. He crouched down, looking in between the storage garages for any signs of life. There were dark alleyways in between the small buildings, and he prayed like hell that Felicity was hiding somewhere and that he could find her before anyone else did.

"Roy, are you in here?" Oliver listened for an answer to come through the comm. system, his eyes not slowing down his search.

"Yeah, I've made a clean sweep around the outside with no signs of anything. Find her?" Roy's worried tone reflected Oliver's inner turmoil, but he couldn't afford to let his emotions get the better of him.

"No. Start with the Northeast corner and work your way through the rows. Don't skip anything and call me immediately if you see anyone at all." He was glad that he had kept his voice calm. He could feel his heart rate increasing as he leapt down from the roof and started creeping up the row.

Oliver spotted the main office of the storage facility up ahead, and he aimed straight for it. A glance in the windows showed no lights, but he still planned to take a look inside. He was hopeful that the phone Felicity had called from was in the office. No one else on the team had her ability to trace phone calls in a hurry, so he couldn't be sure, but he figured that was the most likely place to look for a phone given the chance.

He slowly turned the knob, not wanting to alert anyone that he was there. The door inched forward, and Oliver moved to slip into the darkness. As he stepped further into the room, he heard a noise behind him. He swung to meet his attacker and barely had time to divert his fist before slamming into her.

Felicity had been behind the door, and she had raised a laptop above her head, preparing to take out anyone who came inside. The computer crashed into Oliver's gloved fist at the same time as his other arm came around her and pulled her to him. She didn't fight back, realizing immediately who it was, and instead buried her face into the leather of his jacket.

Oliver wrapped his other arm around her and pressed his cheek to the top of her head. He was sure his grip was tight enough to be crushing her, but he couldn't bring himself to loosen his hold.

"The power went out while I was on the phone and I didn't know—" He cut her off, shushing her as he cupped the side of her face. She started to shiver, and his number one priority became to get her out of there.

"You're fine. I'm here and it's fine." She nodded against him, and he let himself take his first deep breath since she'd been missing.

"There are three men." Felicity didn't pull back an inch as she starting talking. "I didn't recognize any of them, and I have no idea what they want or how they knew where the lair was. They dragged me here and left me in a garage, but there was an interior panel I was able to rewire and open up." She paused and took a ragged breath, and Oliver didn't interrupt her. "I heard them walking around so I made it in here, where I called. I guess you know the rest." Her voice trailed away and he pulled back enough to see her face. He ran his gloved hand across her lower lip, and he couldn't ignore the way it trembled.

"Roy, Dig, you get that?" After both men confirmed, Oliver's shifted his focus to eliminating the threat. "Felicity, I want you to stay here until Roy and I take care of these guys." He felt her hands tighten their grip on his jacket, and for a minute he thought she might not let him go.

She took a ragged breath, and pushed away to create some space between them. "Okay. Stay safe." She stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. The zing of electricity blended with the adrenaline that was already pumping through him, and as she moved away he resisted the urge to drag her back to him. At the same instant, he felt like he had enough power in him to take on the world. "I'm just going to stay right here behind the door. If you come… when you come back here, yell so I know it's you." She took up her post behind the door as though she were guarding it instead of hiding behind it, and Oliver felt an emotion fill him that he didn't want to name right then. Regardless, he knew he had to have faith that she would be okay.

"You stay safe, and I'll be right back." He stepped out of the door, knowing he had a lot of motivation to take care of this quickly.

…

The three men proved to be no trouble at all. Once they'd been spotted, he and Roy had been able to take them down in seconds. The issue was in the fact that they seemed to be paid lackeys. They didn't have any idea who he was, and they didn't seem to care. Unfortunately, they also felt the same about their employer. Oliver knew he wasn't going to get any information that night, and he left the men in Roy's care as he went to retrieve Felicity from the safety of the office.

She'd run into his arms, and he wasn't letting her go. She didn't ask any questions as he led her out of the storage facility, and he didn't volunteer to start any conversation either. Oliver drove them both back to her place, and it seemed to be understood that he was coming inside. He wasn't leaving her alone for a second with some unknown threat looming over them.

Neither of them reached for the light switch, as they both wanted the safety net of the darkness. Felicity went immediately to sit on the couch, and Oliver couldn't bring himself to sit down next to her. He wanted to touch every inch of her to make sure she was okay, and if he got anywhere close to her he didn't think he could find the self control to keep any kind of distance. He took up a spot across from her with the window behind him. His heart had barely stopped racing since she'd gone missing, and it wasn't slowing down now. The words he needed to say were jumbling inside of him, and he was afraid that if he couldn't string them together in the right order that he was going to ruin something amazing.

"Felicity, I have a confession to make."

"Of course you do. We wouldn't be Oliver and Felicity if we didn't have a night of agonizing terror followed by a heartfelt confessional." She was trying to break the tension, but he couldn't find much humor at the moment.

"My memories—" he stopped. She wasn't angry with him now, and he was so afraid that she wouldn't forgive him for not telling her he regained his memories the minute that they woke up. If he was going to be honest, he was also a little afraid that she preferred the other version of himself, the one without the trauma and the baggage. Currently he came with a pretty messed up history.

"I know," she spoke into the poignant silence. His head, which had been looking at the ground at her feet, jerked up to look at her face.

"I've known since the minute we kissed." Even in the shadows he could tell that she was looking away and thinking. Her fingertips lightly touched her lower lip, as though she was remembering. He knew that every kiss that they had shared was burned into his memory. She spoke slowly and clearly, without a hint of careless rambling. "The man I was with the last few days and this morning, he was wonderful. He was great, and we were great. But it wasn't reality. He wasn't the man I knew before, the man I loved." Oliver's heart seemed to stop when he heard her say she loved him, but she kept talking, and he struggled to focus and hang onto every word.

Felicity shook her head. "Don't get me wrong; I could have fallen in love with him. He was mostly the same, of course. But _this_ man, the one standing in front of me now, the one who kissed me in the afternoon sun, he's the one I've loved since I met him." She brought her eyes to his, and there was no way that he couldn't see the love shining through. "He's sacrificed everything just to rescue people who don't even know who he is. He's saved my life over and over again. He's triumphed and overcome through a torturous past that I can't even imagine. His strength to overcome his past, _your_ strength, Oliver, is what makes you a hero."

"I love you," the words seemed to rip through him before he could even think about what he should say. It was as though the words couldn't stay inside him a moment longer. In her speech, he'd found exactly what he'd been looking for. Oliver hated his past, and not remembering it had lightened his load so much, but without it he wouldn't exist. He wouldn't be any kind of hero, and he wouldn't be able to really love her like she deserved. He was grateful for his past because it led him to her. At the same time, he was so grateful for the memory loss because otherwise he might never have let himself have her.

He slid to the floor at her feet, and she opened her knees to let him get closer. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her lap. "I can't remember not loving you." His voice was muffled against the fabric of her jacket, and all of a sudden he couldn't handle the separation. Oliver ripped off his gloves and his jacket and shoved them behind him into the floor.

Felicity was already moving to help him get her jacket off, and she slid to the floor in front of him. He nearly tore the fabric of her dress trying to get the zipper down in the back. He felt like he was drowning and he wasn't going to be able to breathe if he couldn't touch her. Within seconds she was out of her jacket and he was pulling her dress off of her shoulders. As his fingertips made contact with her skin, all of his anxiety seemed to fade away. He pressed his face into her shoulder, trying to breathe her in.

She pulled her arms out of her dress and wrapped them around him tightly as though she was afraid he would try and pull back.

"Oliver, I need you to promise me something." He moved his lips over her collar bone, his tongue slipping out just to taste her, and at the warm contact her breath hitched. He repeated the motion, wanting to hear the sound again.

"Anything," her murmured against her. She straightened away from him, and laced her fingers through his hair. She pulled on his scalp hard enough for him to get the point, and he pulled away just enough to make eye contact. "Anything," he repeated.

"This is real. You don't get to freak out." He started to shake his head, but she pressed a finger to his lips. "You were stressed by my disappearance tonight, and I need to know that once you've calmed down, you aren't going to change your mind. I don't want you going to some dark place and worry that you're too far gone to be with me. And I don't want you deciding tomorrow that you'd rather be with someone you don't care about just because it's easier. It's nonsense, but you've done it before."

Oliver slowly shook his head, hoping she understood that he was completely hers now, and that was never going to changed. He may have had those thoughts before, but now he knew better. He knew what it was to hold her and to love her. There was no turning back. He could sooner give up oxygen. He opened his lips and softly bit the finger she was holding there. As her hand dropped away he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. "I can ruin you, you know," she told him, running her finger along his lower lip. "I can drain any bank account you have and put your name on every no fly list that exists. I'm dangerous." Her eyes glimmered in the darkness.

"Felicity Smoak," Oliver heard his voice, low and serious, "You are incredibly dangerous. All you'd have to do to ruin me is walk away. I'd never recover." He prayed that she'd know how true that was.

A smile emerged on her face, and it was like the sun came out. She brought her lips to his, and the heat and light surged through him. They had so much to work out, and he was aware that they were a mess. They were wrapped around each other, half dressed in the floor, with some unknown bad guy after them, and the city asleep all around them. He prayed this was how he would spend every night for the rest of his life.

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**A/N ****This is the final chapter to my first multi-chapter fanfic. Thank you so much to everyone who has read through it with me! I know not everything was perfect, and there are things I could work on and tweak forever, but I've had more fun writing this than I could have imagined. I'd love to hear what you think of the story as a whole or just the ending, so please leave a review and let me know!**

**I'm aware I left the bad guy situation unresolved, but that decision was important to me. I liked the idea that the story isn't over, or that all of their stories overlap, but this story concludes when the important things are settled. **

**Every single favorite, follow, and review made such a difference to me. I'm hoping to find inspiration to start my next fic really soon. I have a few ideas I'll be adding to my one-shot collection in the meantime. Thanks again for all the positive feedback and support! Feel free to send prompt suggestions via PM or review!**


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